


Wanted

by Jenna_H



Category: Original Work
Genre: I missed writing so lets hope i keep it up?, Idk if ill be very active with this but oh well, Multi, Original Story - Freeform, This was a really old idea i never explored
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-14 07:51:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8004415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenna_H/pseuds/Jenna_H
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four freshman college students, Adam, Zach, Hester and Charlie all lived boring lives. They all went to the same high school, all at the same college, and none of them live exciting lives. That is until one day when they all go on a field trip to a secret government base and accidentally get exposed to a chemical that give them mutant abilities. Now on the run from the government, the four super humans must fight for the cure to their powers and uncover what actually happened during the accident that may not have actually been one at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So right off the bat I am going to admit that my upload schedule will not be structured as I am in college and trying to balance a job, marching band and classes. I will try to upload when I can but please bear with me. Also I know that I am mainly writing this for myself as no one really follows this account but that's ok. It gives me something to do when I need to relax my brain from the stress. Also the reason I did not put relationships is because I want it to be a surprise ( which basically means I don't know where I'm going with this story)

Charlie

                I guess the best thing to do is to start at the beginning of it all, before all of our lives were completely destroyed, and before the world turned against us. The four of us, Zach, Hester, Adam and I, well, our lives were boring. All of us went to a simple college that I won’t tell the name of because it’s destroyed now. We were all in the same Management class even though none of us were business majors (I was a Psychology major), and we lived our days in peace. Ironically, the only people in our group who were friends before any of this started were Hester, Adam and I. We all went to the same high school, and lived in the same town. Hester and I had been close and despite having a small crush on her, I knew she would never see me as anything else but the girl who stood up for her in 6th grade against a group of guys who tried to snap her bra strap. We grew to become what society would call “friends” and then we both discovered our common love of a TV show. From there it was 6 years of constant phone calls, midnight food runs and just overall enjoying each other’s company. Once we got to college, that’s when it became more than friends. From drunk kisses at parties to random flirting, that’s where the feelings came from. I knew deep down she was mainly into men, but I also knew that I was special to her. That knowledge became even more prevalent when the accident happened.  I can’t talk about it right now, but eventually I hope to be able to.

Hester – September, 2015

“Charlie!” The blonde didn’t hear anything due to the enormous pink headphones currently nestled on her head. Hester rolled her eyes as she walked closer to her best friend. She snuck up behind the other girl and stared over her shoulder for a few minutes. _Of course,_ she thought. On the screen was the most popular TV show on campus: _Scream_. It was a little too gory for Hester, but she did enjoy watching it with Charlie from time to time. Looking at the blond, she got an idea. Slowly, she crept up closer and quickly yanked the headphones off while whispering “Hey Sis, Surprise!” Charlies didn’t scream. The noise she made was on a whole other level as she jumped up from the chair she was sitting in. The whole room turned and stared at them as Charlie whipped around and shot the dirtiest look she could muster. Hester held her chest as she laughed so hard her ribs started to hurt.

                “Ha Ha, very funny Hessy,” Charlie rolled her eyes as she packed up her bag. “Hessy” was a childhood nickname Charlie used whenever Hester made her mad. Charlie chuckled and started to walk outside with a laughing Hester following.

                “Dude you have to admit I got you good this time! Think of it as revenge for putting the grass in my shoes,” Hester said as she giggled. Charlie rolled her eyes as she kept walking toward their dorm room. As they were only freshman, they had to live in the freshman girl’s dorm room, which was gross. It consisted of a 12 x 9 cement room, two beds, two desks and two closets. Both girls came from the same town so naturally when they got to college they put in to have a dorm room together. Hester pulled out her lanyard to open the door as Charlie sighed. “What is it? Vinny still texting you?” Vinny was Charlie’s older brother who constantly texted her everyday asking for money so he could buy drugs. She had taken it to the campus police and they charged him $100 for possession or something, but he recently appealed and they dropped the charge. Charlie rolled her eyes and nodded.

                “He says that he’s a changed man and he doesn’t smoke or anything but I don’t believe him.”

                “Why don’t you just delete his number then??”

                “Because he’s still family. My mom would kill me if I cut my brother off.” Hester shook her head at this. They opened the door to the room and Hester flopped down onto her bed. Classes were done for the day and there was a welcome back to school party later that night.

                “So did you hear that Professor Giles is taking some students on a field trip in a few weeks? His old high school buddy works for this secret government plant that works on testing!” Charlie looked up at Hester as she started to change out of her leggings and college shirt into a tight skirt and one of those laced up shirts that exposed her chest.

                 “Yes I heard but I doubt we’d get in. You know that seniors always get picked first.” Hester shrugged at this and continued to change. She then pulled her hair out of its ponytail, her long red hair flowing down her back. Grabbing her straightener, she caught Charlie quickly look down at her textbook and smiled. She’d known for a long time Charlie had a thing for her, but she also knew that Charlie would never act on it. Sure they had kissed here and there, but Hester just didn’t feel the same way about Charlie that Charlie felt for her. It was an unspoken agreement they had since the accident, which always made Hester cringe because of what happened. She quickly forced those thoughts out of her mind before she started to cry, instead focusing on her makeup. There was a party tonight and Hester had one thought in mind: get a dance with the new kid. Someone transferred in halfway through the semester in her class and she wanted to get to know him. Stark black hair, emerald green eyes, he was the definition of perfect. Hester sighed as she adjusted her shirt so that you saw the slightest hint of her black lace bra. She gave herself one more once over before nodding with approval. Turning around, Hester noticed that Charlie had proceeded to put her headphones back on and open up a text book. She sighed and went into Charlie’s closet.

                “Um, what are you doing?” Hester made a noise of excitement and turned around, a short dress in her hand.

                “Put this on! We’re going to the party tonight.”

                “You do know we have an exam on MONDAY right? And of course it Hall, her tests are always so hard. I don’t know about you, but I plan to spent my Saturday AND Sunday studying so I can, you know, GRADUATE?” Hester laughed as she shut the book in Charlie’s lap who in return made a noise in protest.

                “Come on sourpuss, it will be fun. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?”

Adam

                “So let me get this straight, they scheduled you for Management but you’re a PA major?” Adam turned and faced his roommate Zach, who was tossing a football up in the air. He nodded and turned back to his computer where all of his homework laid waiting for him. He sighed and continued the paper he was typing, all while trying to block out his roommate’s obnoxious music.

                “Must you play that at an obnoxious level Zach?” Adam asked as he turned to his roommate. He hid behind his football as Adam shot him a glare and turned down the volume on the speaker.

                “Dude, it’s a Saturday night and Kappa Theta Upsilon is hosting a back to school party! What is it going to take to get you to get your nose out of that book and come with me? KTU parties are supposedly the best parties on campus!” Adam stared at his roommate in bewilderment. Although they coexisted peacefully, they really didn’t have a whole lot in common besides their major. Adam was more of the All Star Student, the one who made friends with everyone and was already really popular amongst the soccer players because he had gotten a hefty scholarship for it. With his darker skin and curly brown hair, he had a lot of girls going after him. Adam on the other hand was the reclusive one. He mainly spent his free time studying and listening to more alternative music. His old friends used to call him a goth because of his long black hair and his green eyes, but he preferred an introvert. So naturally the idea of a party made him cringe.

                 “I don’t think I want to go Zach. I have a test on Monday and if I don’t study for it I’m screwed.”

                 “Dude relax you’re fine! One night of partying isn’t going to affect your brain. Plus, there’s going to be a lot of girls there.” Adam sighed and shut his book. He supposed one night wouldn’t kill him. Shortly after arriving to the KΘY house which was not even a house, more like a mansion, Adam quickly disappeared into the crowd, shooting for a nice dark secluded corner to hide in. Finding one, he pulled out his text book that he stashed in his bag. He may have promised Zach that he would come to the party but he certainly didn’t want to partake in the drinking and dancing. Everyone in the room was either drunk, high or a mix of both and it made Adam extremely anxious.

                 “I’m glad to see someone else in this party isn’t completely wasted” said a higher pitched voice above him. Adam looked up and the first thing he saw was red hair. After a few moments of adjustment, he realized he knew who she was, the girl in his Management class. Her red hair was the first thing he had noticed when he walked in and he immediately recognized it before she introduced herself. “I’m Hester, aren’t you the one who got transferred into my management class?” Adam looked at her with a blank expression as she sat down next to him on the bean bag chair. “You and my roommate are doing the same thing, she brought her textbook to this party to study as well.”

                 “Why are you sitting next to me if you don’t mind me asking?” Hester froze.

                 “You looked lonely and I was tired of the sleazy college guys trying to grind on me. I can leave if you want me too.” Adam smiled a small smile and shook his head.

                “I’m Adam.”

Zach

                 Zach found an empty room after almost an hour of searching, shutting the door behind him and flopping down onto the bed.  Sighing, he looked around the room and realized it was probably one of the brother’s room. There were a bunch of DVD’s spread out and around the TV in the corner and something was quietly playing in the room next door. Zach sat up on the bed and found the TV remote and decided to flip it on when all of a sudden the door slammed open. Quickly rolling off the bed, Zach heard a rough voice and a more hushed softer voice clearly arguing about something.

                 “Goddamnit Charlie why can’t you believe me that I sobered up?”

                 “Because why else would you be at a KTU party if you were sobered up. These are your friends and your drug dealers, so naturally you must be here to get wasted again and I am not bailing you out when mom finds out about this.” The rougher voice sighed and moved to the door.

                 “I didn’t want to do this Charlie but you leave me no choice.” Suddenly Zach heard a cry and he stood up just in time to see a tall lanky kid advancing.

                 “Hey bud unless you want to spend the night in the drunk tank, I’d suggest you leave,” Zach said as he moved around the bed. The lanky kid was a few inches shorter than Zach and he knew if things got physical that it would be an easy fight. The blonde haired girl moved behind Zach and the other boy glared at him.

                 “This is a family matter punk, nothing that concerns you.” Zach snorted and moved right up into the other kids face. He knew that he shouldn’t fight this kid because it wouldn’t be smart, but he felt bad for the girl.

                 “Listen, it would be better for everyone if you just went home. Maybe sober up a bit.” The guy glared at him and looked behind him and glared at the girl.

                 “This isn’t over Charlie.” He turned and stomped out of the room. Zach sighed and looked at the blonde girl, Charlie and smiled.

                 “Feeling better?” She nodded and slowly sank to the bed crying. “Hey whoa what’s wrong?” She shuttered and turned to him as he sank onto the bed.

                 “That was my brother Vinny and he just recently got out of rehab for alcohol addiction and I was hoping he had really gotten better but I guess he’s just as bad as before.” She started crying some more and Zach just wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she let it all out.

                 “It’s going to be ok, if he tries to attack you again I will kick his ass. It’s going to be ok.” The girl Charlie just stared at him and smiled. Sniffling, she rubbed her eyes and laughed.

                 “Wow look at me, crying on someone’s shoulder and I don’t even know your name.” Zach laughed and stood up, extending his hand.

                 “I’m Zach.”

                 “I’m Charlie.” She grabbed his hand and he led her out of the room. “So your roommate is Adam right?” Zach stared at her in bewilderment.

                 “How did you know that?” She shrugged and kept walking.

                 “My roommate is kind of in love with him. It’s actually really funny.” Zach just stared at her in astonishment. She laughed at him and explained some more. “He’s in our management class and she is obsessed with him.”

                 “Wait you mean Hall’s management class? I’m in that too!!” Charlie stared at him in shock. Before she could say anything else, someone cleared their throat above them.  Looking up, Zach took in the strangest sight: his reclusive roommate Adam with the hottest girl ever on his arm. She had pretty blue eyes and shocking red hair. Definitely not Adams type but there they were. “And who would this be Adam?”

                 “That would be my roommate Hester. And she and I were just leaving.” Charlie quickly stood up and completely avoided eye contact with anyone as she grabbed Hester’s arm and left the room. Adam watched them go as Zach just stared, processing what he just witnessed.

                “Mind explaining what the hell just happened?” Adam stayed silent as he sat down next to Zach.

                “I know her. We used to go to the same high school when we were younger, and almost graduated together, but I left the high school in sophomore year because- “Adam stopped and looked away. Hoping he would continue, Zach just stared at him in confusion. “There was an accident and she was a part of it, but I can’t tell you because it was a bad time for me and I’ve tried to shut it out of my life for a long time.” Zach nodded and got up, reaching for Adam’s hand.

                “Come on let’s go. This party is a bust anyway.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost 3,000 words omg, but I heavily debated talking about the "accident" in this chapter but then I realized I wasn't revealing everything so it was OK. S/o to the two people who've read this story at the time of uploading you go Glenn Coco! OK I'm done enjoy this chapter.

Hester

              “So are you going to tell me what the hell that was all about back there Charlie?” After the abrupt departure from the party, Charlie turned into a stone and wouldn’t answer any of Hester’s questions. They had been driving for an hour and Charlie had stared straight out at the road and completely shut down. Hester stared at her best friend from the passenger seat and sighed. She knew that it was hopeless to try and get Charlie to talk so she stared out the window, watching the trees pass by.

              “He was there. At the accident.” Hester shot up and stared wide eyed at Charlie, uncomprehending what was just said.

              “You mean… THE accident?” Charlie nodded. “I knew he looked familiar, I almost completely forgot that he was with us when it happened. Charlie I am so sorry if I had known.."”

              “It just startled me that he was there and I panicked and I’m sorry for rushing you out of there.” Charlie’s voice began to crack a bit and Hester could tell that she was close to crying.

              “Charlie it’s ok, I was just worried about you, but it’s going to be ok. Don’t worry about it, you were startled and I understand. Hey, we’re close to your favorite restaurant, want to stop for some milkshakes?” Charlie nodded and Hester smiled. 10 minutes later they were sitting in a booth drinking chocolate milkshakes and just talking. About an hour later, both of them were tucked into bed and Hester prayed to God that Charlie would be better in the morning.

* * *

              “Hester wake up! We’re going to be late for the test and I am NOT failing this because you’re failing to wake up.” Groaning, Hester rolled out of her bed and shot a glare at Charlie who was already dressed and ready to go. Throwing on a tshirt and shorts, they walked into their management class. Everyone there was doing their last minute studying before the test began and Hester groaned.

               “Can I just drop out of college and not take this test?” Charlie whacked her upside the head and Hester laughed. “I’m kidding!” Suddenly Charlie froze, and Hester looked up in time to see Zach and Adam walk in. Adam locked eyes with Charlie and Hester saw something change in his expression, but before she could determine what it was, he turned quickly and sat down. “Hey, it’s ok Charlie. Just ignore him ok?” Charlie nodded and stared down at her desk.

                “Alright class,” Mrs. Hall said as she handed out the tests, “you have the entire period to finish this, no extensions! Your time starts now.” Hester stared down at her test and started a mental list of all of the other things she could be doing instead of this test.

* * *

                 “I am seriously considering a career change, because that was the hardest test ever.” Charlie looked up from her book as Hester plopped down in the grass next to her. “Please remind me again why I decided business would be a good minor? I don’t even like numbers and stats.”

                 “Because you hate blood and you suck at science?” Glaring, Hester sighed and laid back into the grass and closed her eyes. It was a nice day and she planned on enjoying every moment of it. “Hey did you hear that Giles opened up the trip to freshman who were interested?” Hester looked up with a huge grin on her face.

                “Well I happen to know of two freshmen who would love to go on this trip.”

Zach

                “I can’t believe they can’t switch me out of that stupid management class, it has nothing to do with my major and it’s very dull.” Zach looked as his roommate as he stretched out on the lounge seat in their dorm.

                “Honestly they may just be trying to get you to be well rounded and have more experience in new things. But yeah that test was brutal.” Adam groaned in agreement and Zach pulled out his computer. There was an email from Adam and his Chemistry teacher and it struck him curious. “Hey, so remember that trip Giles was talking about?”

                “Yeah, but isn’t it only open to upperclassmen?”

                “It was, but he just sent out an email saying that four spaces just became available to whoever wants to go.”

                “Well how do we sign up?”

                “It just says to email him back if we are interested. It sounds really fun; we should do it!”

                “I guess, although I’m not sure why you of all people would want to go on a field trip with the science department head to a government facility to learn about the tests they do.”

                “Hey I’d rather do that than sit through another Saturday at the dining hall doing nothing.” Adam shrugged and left the room to do who knows what and Zach opened up a new email.

* * *

                 The week went by with a blur and finally it was Saturday, and Zach had wished he had brought a jacket on this trip. One of the disadvantages of going to college in the north meant that even in September it was colder than the north pole. It also didn’t help that Giles had woken all the students up at 6:00 am due to the fact that the base was 2 hours away and the tour was at 10:00. Zach looked around and noticed that he and Adam seemed to be the only freshmen of the group of 10.

                “Now we’re just waiting on two more people before we can go, hopefully they show up soon!” Adam groaned from behind Zach and Zach laughed. Adam hated waking up in the morning and Zach knew that this was killing the poor boy. “If our missing companions don’t show up by 6:30, we will have to- “

                “Sorry we’re late professor, someone took forever to wake up, “a small voice said from behind Zach and he turned to see a very bleary eyed Charlie dragging a still sleeping Hester behind her.

                “No trouble, just glad you made it in time. Alright, now because we are going into a government facility, I have decided to pair you up so that no one gets lost. Here is the list: Joe, you are with Kara. Lance, you are with Michael. Hester, you are with Zach. Charlie, you are with Adam…” Zach didn’t miss how both Adam and Charlie froze as the professor continued on to finish the list.

                “Charlie, are you ok?” Hester whispered to her and Charlie shot a glance at Adam, who was looking in every direction but the one Charlie was in.

                “Hey don’t worry about it, I’ll be ok.” Hester nodded as Charlie walked over to Adam, although she moved with disdain.

                “Now students, please sit with your partner on the bus, and because I’m nice, I decided to let you sit where you want. Move quickly! Time is wasting!” Everyone filed onto the bus and Adam shot Zach a pleading look to which Zach shrugged. He turned to Hester with a puzzled look on his face about the whole situation and she just shook her head and walked on the bus. _Oh boy_ , Zach thought, _this is going to be a long ride_.

Adam

                 Of course Giles had to stick him with the one person he least wanted to be with right now and of course she was supposed to sit next to him for the next two hours. It was just fates way of saying that he was responsible for what happened in the past between them. He knew that she still hated him for the accident, but he also knew that it wasn’t his fault. It was a setup and when he tried to explain she turned against him. Sighing, Adam pulled out his earbuds and went to listen to music.

               “Just a PSA, since we are going into a government facility, there will be no use of cell phones whatsoever. And because I know you teenagers are addicted to your phones, I am coming around to collect them so that you get used to being without them for the day. Who knows, maybe you’ll make friends with your bus buddy.” _Perfect_ , Adam sighed as he handed his phone over to the professor. He had hoped to avoid talking to Charlie, but now there was no way to avoid any sort of conversation with her. He turned and stared out the window, dreading this trip.

               “So, are you excited for this trip?” Adam looked at Charlie, who was staring straight at him. He nodded and she turned back to the front of the bus. A few minutes passed and she let out a sigh. “Look Adam, we’re going to have to suck it up and talk to each other eventually because we’re on this bus for the next two hours. So you might as well get over yourself and stop being a moody brat.” Shocked, Adam just stared at Charlie for a moment.

               “Fine Charlie, what do you want me to say? I’m sorry for what happened even though it wasn’t my fault? Is that what you wanted to hear? Because I am not going to spend the next two hours trying to make amends for something I didn’t cause.”

              “Are you serious right now? You really think that I am going to accept that bullshit. How dare you make yourself look like the victim. YOU were the one who made the decision to do what you did and look what happened.”

             “It wasn’t my fault that you came up with the idea in the first place so don’t you dare try to put all the blame on me because it wasn’t just me who was involved.” Charlie huffed and crossed her arms, facing the front again. Adam rolled his eyes and looked out the window. This was going to be a long bus ride.

Hester

             “I hope they don’t kill each other up there, Giles was so stupid to pair them together.” Zach looked over at Hester in confusion. “They have a really bad past between each other and I’m waiting for the bloodshed.”

            “What happened between them?” Hester looked at Zach and shook her head.

            “I can’t go into details because it was serious, but basically, there used to be another person we knew and something happened and Charlie blames Adam for what happened. It happened in 10th grade, and it almost cost everyone involved their life. It was the worst moment in that school’s history.”

           “Wait a minute, are you talking about what happened at Clark High School? I remember my friends telling me the rumors but I don’t remember what specifically happened. I just remember it being bad.” Hester nodded and her mind drifted off as she thought about everything.

           “Alright students we are stopping at this rest stop, so stick with your buddy and if you need to use the bathroom please do so we still have an hour left.” Hester sighed as she and Zach got up. Departing the bus, Hester found Charlie who looked extremely angry.

           “Charlie what’s wrong?”

           “That lying asshole said that he didn’t cause the accident and it wasn’t his fault. I was about to punch him when Giles stopped the bus.” Hester looked over at Zach and Adam who were in a heated debate. “I can’t believe how arrogant he is, you were there and you know what he did.”

           “I know Charlie, but right now we are all trapped on this bus so it would be better not to create a scene ok?” Charlie sighed and nodded.

           “Alright everyone back on the bus we must continue on if we want to make it in time!” Everyone groaned as they proceeded on the bus, Zach staring over at Hester as they all filed on.

           “Just ignore him ok? If you think about it too much than you’re just going to get even more angry.” Charlie nodded as she sat down in the seat. Hester sighed and made her way back to her seat.

          “So I talked to Adam, and I want to know what actually happened. Don’t bullshit me, just tell me.” Hester blinked at Zach and sighed.

          “Fine, but just please let me tell everything before you comment.”

May of 2013

_It was a nice day and everyone was outside enjoying their lunch. Everyone, except for Hester, Charlie, Adam, and their friend Lauren. Charlie had come up with a prank for their asshole teacher Hawkins: They were going to fill his room with a disgusting gas that made the room smell like skunk. It had been a brilliant idea and they all knew the risk. It was Lauren who had convinced them to go through with it. Charlie had been reluctant to join, but Hester convinced her to do it._

_“Alright Lauren what do we need to do?” Lauren, a pretty petite girl with silver hair looked around the room._

_“First things first, we need that gas right there,” she said as she pointed up to a bottle on the top of a cabinet. Adam walked over and grabbed it and set it down on the table._

_“Now Charlie I need you to get that bottle over there.” Charlie obliged and grabbed the little bottle with a weird name on it. She set It on the table next to the other bottle._

_“And Hester get me a beaker and a stirrer.” Hester grabbed the nearest beaker and set it down. Hester was a little wary about this plan because none of them knew nothing about these chemicals except Lauren and it was very risky._

_“Lauren are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Lauren laughed and brushed the question aside as she began to pour the first chemical in._

_“If you want to leave Hester be my guest, because I’m not going to be a baby about this.” Hester cringed at that. “Now guys when this happens, be prepared for the smell because it’s bad.”_

_"Are there any masks around we can use to filter the smell?” Adam said while looking around, but to no avail for the masks were locked up._

_“Just suck it up ok? You’ve smelled skunk before.” Adam winced and Lauren laughed. “Alright guys are you ready for this?” They all nodded as she poured in the second chemical. Suddenly, a bright flash and a scream occurred and they all looked away as a huge smoke of yellow rose from the beaker. When the smoke dissipated, Hester heard a cry. On the floor was Lauren, her silver hair splayed around her. The horrifying part was the red irritation around her eyes and the blood coming from her mouth. Charlie ran forward in tears, shaking Lauren who didn’t respond. “Lauren oh my god! Wake up please Lauren!” Lauren didn’t budge and Charlie sobbed into Hester’s arms._

       “ _Adam what the hell happened?!” Adam just stared at Lauren and then back at Charlie. Hester could see the look of fear in his eyes and she looked down at Lauren again._

* * *

       “And then after that he ran away, and dropped out of Clarke.” Zach stared down at his hands and Hester couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

       “Did Lauren ever wake up?” Hester shook her head and she could feel the tears coming. It still stung thinking about what happened and she knew that it was always going to be a vivid memory in her mind. Before she could say something the bus came to a stop and Zach looked out the window.

        “Alright everyone let’s get off the bus quickly and efficiently! We don’t have much time.” Hester sighed and started to get up when Zach put his hand on hers.

        “Thank you for telling me what happened. I am sorry to hear about Lauren but Charlie can’t keep beating up Adam.”

        “It’s the only way she can get over what happened to Lauren. It really destroyed her.”

        “Why is that?”

        “Because Lauren was her girlfriend.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got writers block at the end that's why it's so sloppy I'm sorry. Also I'm not sure when I will be able to post again because I have a lot going on yikes

Charlie

                The building was gray and drab and the temperature was well below freezing. Charlie kicked herself for not bringing a warmer jacket to this event and she pulled her cardigan tighter around her body.

                “Now students, remember to stick with your partner throughout the tour as to not get lost! This place is huge and it will be very crucial to stay together.” Charlie grumbled as she followed Adam into the building. The lobby itself was very clean and there was a woman at the desk talking to an older man. The man stopped when Giles walked in and they embraced and Giles turned to the group. “This is my old college buddy Dr. Bane. He will be taking us on the tour today so please pay attention!”

                “I am so glad you all could make it today; I promise you this tour will be worth your time!” The lady at the desk pressed a button and the door next to Bane opened. As they proceeded on, Charlie let her mind drift off to the bus ride. She was still seething from what Adam had said to her. How dare he try to make it her fault, he’s the one who caused all of this, not her. She tried to get them to stop and it was all his fault. She glanced over at Adam, who was staring straight ahead. A lot had changed about him from tenth grade, for instance his hair was no longer that disgusting blue color and he took out all of those dumb piercings. Charlie sighed and faced front again, completely missing what Bane had said.

                “On our right is the testing room, this is where we test different chemicals and how they react to certain triggers. Our most recent chemical that we are testing is Ghantridine, which we believe can be the answer to less pollution. It produces a yellow smoke when activated at a certain temperature. Hopefully it can give us the solution for the toxins in the air, maybe even counteract radiation.” At the mention of yellow smoke Charlie looked up in shock. Was that the chemical that Lauren had used to make the room smell bad? It scared Charlie to think about. “Now, as we move along…” The overall tour took them about an hour to go through and around 12:00 pm it was lunchtime. Giles was nice and decided to give them a break from their partners and allowed them to sit with whoever they wanted for lunch. Charlie made a beeline for Hester who was next to Zach.

                “Ghantridine. I think that was what caused the accident.” Startled, Hester looked at Charlie in confusion. “Think about it, Bane said that it creates a yellow smoke when activated at a certain temperature. The mix we did with Lauren produced a yellow smoke as well!” Charlie could tell Hester didn’t believe her and it made her frustrated. “I think we should go investigate the chemical and see if it’s the same one.

                “Charlie, what happened with Lauren was a tragic accident and I know you’re still torn up about it, but that is just a suspicion about Ghantridine and I don’t think it would be a good idea to go in there without any prior knowledge.”

                “You know what? If you’re not going to help me then I’ll just go myself.” She huffed and walked away. She found Giles and asked to use the restroom.

                “You need to take a buddy, where is Adam?”

                “Right here.” Adam walked up behind Charlie and she flinched.  “I can take her to the bathroom and we will be back before the tour starts up again.” Giles nodded and pointed them to the bathroom. Making haste, Charlie looked at Adam suspiciously when they started going the wrong way.

                “Why are you following me Adam.” He didn’t respond until they made it to their destination: the testing room. “Adam why are you here? What are you doing?” He still didn’t respond until they were safely inside the room.

                “Look, judging by the fact that you tried to run off so quickly means that you also have the same thought about that chemical Ghantridine. And if this is the only way to prove that this isn’t my fault then so be it. But stop talking and start looking.” Charlie shut her mouth in shock and nodded. Five minutes of searching around and they still hadn’t found anything. “If I was a dangerous chemical that could make people bleed from their mouths where would I be?”

                “Ok clearly that isn’t going to help so let’s get serious ok?” Suddenly the door started to rattle and Adam quickly pulled Charlie down behind a table, keeping as still as possible. The door opened and in walked a scientist who seemed to be carrying a bottle of some kind of liquid. He set the bottle down and began to sit in the chair when there was a commotion outside. The scientist ran out to see what was going on and a few moments later Hester walked in.

Zach

                “Where is she going Hester? There’s no way Giles is going to let her go on her own.” Just as he said this, Adam appeared behind Charlie and they were on their way. Hester turned and smirked at Zach.

                “You were saying?’ Zach chuckled and they continued to eat lunch. A few minutes passed and Giles looked over at the door. He frowned and looked over at Bane and whispered something. Bane frowned and looked at the doors as well. _Uh Oh_ , Adam thought. He nudged Hester and pointed at Bane, who was getting up and walking towards the door.

                “They figured it out! We have to find Adam and Charlie fast!” Hester ran over to Giles who was just sitting down from getting something.

                “I need to use the restroom immediately.” Giles looked at her is shock.

                “I’m sorry, but no one is allowed to leave for a little bit, there is an emergency in one of the wings and until it is settled then we must stay here.”

                “I have my period and I need to go to the bathroom NOW.” Giles sputtered at Hester’s bluntness and waved her and Zach off. They bust through the doors and ran into the hall. After they were in the clear Zach held his stomach and burst out laughing. “What?”

                “’I have my period’? Really?”  Hester glared at him as they made their way to the testing room, as Hester rounded the corner, Zach grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Unfortunately, she stumbled and landed flat against him, his hand on her mouth. “There’s someone around the corner hold on.” She nodded and they waited about five seconds until they man went into the room. Zach looked into the door and saw Adam and Charlie tucked behind a table.

                “We have to get the guy out of there! They’re going to get caught if we don’t do something.” Zach thought for a moment and he had an idea.

                “Be ready to run into the room on my cue.” She nodded and he braced himself to run. Sighing, he started to sprint and sang ‘American Idiot’ at the top of his lungs. He quickly rounded the corner and ducked into the nearest closet and watched as the dude ran past the door. Quickly looping his way back around he ran to the room and slid inside.

                “Zach that was brilliant oh my god!” Charlie laughed as Zach came in panting. He smiled and flashed a thumbs up. “Ok so Adam and I looked all over this place and we couldn’t find a single vial that said ‘Ghantridine’ anywhere on it. We think that it may not be in here so we’re hoping that it is somewhere in this building.” They all nodded and started to make their way to the door. However, it was locked. “That’s weird, Zach did you lock it on your way in?”

                “No? How can a door be locked from the inside?”

                “I don’t know but it is!”

                “Let me try.” Zach tried the door handle and sure enough it was locked from the inside. He pushed hard on it and it wouldn’t budge.

                “Guys there’s an air shaft over here if we try and climb it maybe we can get out of here.” Adam walked over and gave Hester a boost up. She pried it open and crawled in. “There will be room for all of us come on let’s go!” Zach hoisted up Charlie and then Adam. He looked around the room and saw a pair of scissors and grabbed them just in case they needed them. Climbing in, he shut the grate behind him and followed the line.

Adam

                “So where exactly does this thing take us?” Adam groaned as they kept going forward.

                “You think I know? I’m just going until I find another vent.” Hester called from the front. After another 20 minutes of crawling, they found a vent and dropped down one at a time. The room was extremely dim and around them laid what looked like tanning beds. There was one door and no windows anywhere to be seen. Charlie groaned as they realized that there was no other way out but the door.

                “Great now we’re trapped in here.” She sat down in one of the beds and sighed.

                “We might as well try the door and see if we can rejoin the group,” Zach said

                “Yeah like that’s the best idea,” scoffed Hester as she sat next to Charlie. Suddenly the door started to shake and they all shot up but there was nowhere to hide. “Quick hop in one of these pod things!” They all leapt in to them and shut the lids. Adam felt extremely claustrophobic and he closed his eyes. Counting to 100, he listened to see if anyone had come in when suddenly the pod lit up around him.

                “What the-,” was all he managed to get out before the world went white and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

* * *

 

                _“Adam what the hell happened?” Charlie screamed out as he looked down at Lauren’s limp body. He couldn’t make a sound and just stared at her. The door flew open as Mr. Hawkins ran in and started yelling, but his mind went completely numb. He gazed at the label on the bottle next to him, which read “Ghantridine. Property of the U.S government. Use with caution.” The world around him began to spin and he turned to run out of the room. Before he reached the door, he turned back and saw Charlie screaming at him, but no sounds were made. He departed from the room and everything went black._

* * *

                It felt like his entire soul was being ripped apart and put back together in a completely different layout and every inch of his body was filled with a burning fire. His throat was hoarse from the screams that came out and it was the most painful thing he had every felt. As quickly as it had started it ended and everything went still. He could heat nothing but white noise around him and his eyes were completely blind to all sight. Testing the lid, he found that it was unlocked and proceeded to open it. There were blinding lights all around him and it was hard to focus, but he made his way over to the other pod next to his. Opening it, he saw Charlie inside, her eyes still closed and her breathing steady.

                “Charlie wake up! What happened to us?” She didn’t stir and Adam let out a noise of frustration. He ran over to another pod and inside was Zach. “Zach please wake up!” Letting out a gasp, Zach sat up quickly.

                “What the hell was that? I shut the lid and then everything went white and- “

                “I know it happened to me too.” He looked over at Charlie’s pod, where she was still sleeping. Zach went over to the last pod which must have been Hester’s pod. He opened it and she got out and stumbled. “Guys we have to get out of here before someone comes and finds us. It’s not safe here.” The three of them quickly grabbed Charlie and began to leave when the door opened. In walked Bane, Giles and a few other guys in lab coats. They walked in and grabbed Adam, Hester, Zach and Charlie and pushed them out of the room. Adam kicked and struggled, but the scientists were just way too strong as they were led into a dim room with cages. Adam fell hard to the ground and he heard similar thumps as he was shoved into a cage. The cages were set up in a square so that he could see everyone, Zach on his left and a still unconscious Charlie on his right. _Why hasn’t she woken up yet_ , he thought as the door somewhere in the room slammed shut.

                “Adam what the hell is going on, why isn’t Charlie waking up?” Hester started crying as she looked over at Adam. “Is she even still alive?” Adam reached through the bars and felt for a pulse. It was faint but there was still one.

                “She’s still breathing but barely. Guys what the hell was that back there? What happened when we shut those pods?” They all looked around at each other in confusion when suddenly a voice crackled over the loud speaker.

                “Allow me to explain what is going on. The government has been testing with many different things over the years. Recently, with the discovery of Ghantridine, we have been testing super human abilities. The abilities themselves? Well, those are acquired based on the test subject’s personality and morals. We still have yet to determine what causes certain abilities to appear, and unfortunately our last batch of subjects, well, let’s just say they weren’t very successful. But you four are the only ones who so far have not shown any signs of failure. Sadly, for you these cages will be your new homes until we can fully determine what kind of ability you have inherited. Please do not bother to escape as there is a 24/7 watch and we have guards stationed at each exit. Try to get some rest, these next few nights are going to be rough ones.” The PA system went dead and Hester burst into tears.

                “Guys we have to remain calm ok? Until Charlie wakes up it’s just us three. We can do this. But we might as well try and get some rest. Who knows when we will get sleep again?” They all nodded and laid down. Adam started making plans for how they were going to escape, but the call of sleep was too strong and soon he found himself fast asleep.

Hester

                “Good morning my subjects, and how are you all this morning?” Hester glared up at the speaker in the corner of the room. “Not talkative today I see. Also I see your friend has not awoken yet, that is a first. No matter, today begins the first day of many test to determine what your abilities will be.” The PA system went dead and Hester looked over at Charlie with sadness. It was true that she hadn’t woken yet, and it was concerning her. Reaching through the bars, Hester felt for Charlie’s pulse. It was slow but steady and Hester let out a whimper.

                “Adam, why hasn’t she woken up yet?” Adam looked utterly exhausted, but he just shook his head.

                “I don’t understand it either. We have to get out of here though. Whatever they’re planning to do to us, I can assure you it won’t be pretty.” Hester nodded and looked around the room for cameras and guards. Finding none, she turned back to Adam and Zach.

                “Please tell me either of you have a plan on how we’re getting out of here?” Zach shook his head but Adam remained quiet. “Adam? Do you have one?” He looked up at Hester and pointed upward. She looked up and noticed a camera that was tucked away in the shadows. She nodded at him in understanding.

                “I have an idea, but it may take some time, and even if it works, it will be hard to get Charlie out of here without them catching us. For now, we may have to be trapped here until she wakes up.” Hester nodded and looked at Charlie. _Please Charlie, please wake up soon_.

* * *

 

                It was cold outside in the courtyard Bane had the three of them in, and Hester was shivering in the scrubs they were provided. She was reluctant to be out here, rather than inside with Charlie if she woke up, but Adam had said to act as if they weren’t planning to escape. It was so hard to look Bane in the eye and not wish him all of the pain in the world.

                “Now today, we will be running you through a couple of tests to see what your powers will be. First up is Zach. Now Zach, I want you to focus in on this can and see what will happen.” He shot Bane a glare and stood in front of the can. A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Bane wrote down something on the paper and Zach stepped back with Adam and Hester. “Ok now Adam, I want you to do the same thing.” He stepped up and nothing happened again. Hester was curious as to what Bane was hoping would happen when it was her turn. She stared at the can and concentrated hard on it. Nothing happened. “This was a test of the ability to move things with your mind. We will be having you do this process for every test until we can test your ability and find it. Next test!” They ran through a number of tasks, each one harder than the last. Unfortunately, none of them passed any of the tasks and they were sent back to their cages defeated.

                “That was the worst experience ever, how much longer will we have to do these tasks until they let us leave,” Hester sighed as she leaned against the bars. She had cuts all over her legs and a bruise on her cheek from falling during one of the tests.

                “Hopefully tomorrow the tests won’t be that bad. I’m just worried about Charlie,” said Adam as he looked over at her. She seemed to have shifted over to her side, and her breathing was starting to get better. “I wish she would wake up already. It’s been two days.” Zach nodded and Hester looked at her as well. Her blonde hair was splayed around her face and she was breathing softly.

                “So Adam, what is this brilliant plan of yours?”, Zach asked as he turned and looked to see if anyone was listening in.

                “My hope is that we discover our powers soon and use them to our advantage. I say that it will take time because of the fact that we haven’t even discovered our powers yet and the fact that Charlie hasn’t woken up yet.” It made sense, but Hester knew there were so many risks. But she knew that asking them now would be a bad idea because of the constant watch they were under. Somewhere in the room a door opened and in walked in a scientist carrying four trays of food, if you could even call it that. On the tray was a piece of bread and some vegetables with a glass of water. Once he had given everyone their tray, the scientist left the room and Hester dug in. It was cold and dissatisfying, but Hester knew she would need her strength in order to survive tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was having a rough time trying to finish this chapter which is why it's so short. I am going to do a time jump for the next chapter and it will be the longest one so far so it may take a bit to do as I am literally swimming in homework. I hope you guys are enjoying this messy short story.

Charlie

                _Darkness surrounded me everywhere. It was cold, yet there was no breeze in the air. I looked around to see where I was._

_“Help me,” a voice whispered around me. I looked everywhere and saw no one. Taking small steps toward the voice, I began to feel weaker. “Help me please, someone help me!” The voice grew louder as I grew weaker. I proceeded onward, despite it taking so much energy.  The air became heavy and it was harder to breathe, but something kept me from stopping. A dim light shone in the distance and I pushed forward until I reached a door. A light shone from behind it and I reached out to open it. Walking through the door, I felt myself get stronger and stronger. I closed my eyes because the light was so bright. When it was dark again, I opened my eyes to see Hester looking down at me._

Hester

                It had been almost a month since they had been captures and Charlie still hadn’t woken up. Hester was starting to think the worst and she knew Adam and Zach were right there with her. None of them had discovered their powers yet and it was starting to wear them down. Standing out in the courtyard, Hester immediately felt the chill. It was colder than yesterday, and Hester was shivering in her clothes. Today they were going to be going through more tests and Bane had told them that they were going to be harder than the ones done yesterday. There first test had been a test in regards to their hearing. Banes tested to see if they could hear long distance, but all of them had failed. Some of the other tests included invisibility, healing abilities and many other. Each one was a failure and Hester could tell that Bane was getting frustrated.

                “Now, this test is going to test speed. The point of the test will be to see if any of you have the power of speed in you. What you will be doing is running from this line right here to that red target across the yard. My hope, though it is dwindling, is that one of you will have this mutation that allows you to travel at the speed of lightning. First up is Adam.” Adam stepped forward and prepared himself. The alarm went off and he sprinted as fast as he could. When he reached the other side, Banes sighed. “Not what I was hoping, although not shocked. Hester, you are next.” She sighed and walked over to the line. When the alarm went off, she ran with all of her might. The air was cold against her skin as she pushed herself to get to the end. When she was next to Adam, she let herself fall to the ground coughing. Hester could see Bane shaking his head and he turned to Zach. Zach stepped up to the line and prepared himself. In a blink of an eye, Zach was suddenly next to Hester. She gasped in shock when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

                “Zach, how did you…”

                “I don’t know, I just focused and then suddenly I was here.”  Hester blinked up at him as Bane walked toward them.

                “Well done Zach! It seems that your powers have been activated. I think we will call it quits today as I am sure you are all exhausted. We will pick up tomorrow. Have a good night.” Bane turned and walked away as the four guards escorted Hester, Zach and Adam back to the building. When they were safely inside their cages, the guards left.

                “Now that Zach has his powers, what are we going to do,” Hester asked as she looked over at Adam, but he wasn’t looking at her, instead he was looking down at a wide awake Charlie. “Oh my god Charlie!” Charlie sat up and looked at all of them in confusion.

                “I’m glad to see you all, but I just have one question. Why am I in a cage?”

Bane

                “Sir, the fourth has just woken up.” Bane looked up from his desk at the soldier who was in the doorway. She seemed nervous and Bane waved her in.

                “When did she wake up?” The soldier closed the door behind her and sat down.

                “We can’t be certain, but we think sometime when the others were outside.” Bane nodded and turned to face the window that overlooked the courtyard.

                “Perfect. I will include her into the testing.”

                “But sir- “

                “What is your name soldier?” She paused.

                “Emily sir.” He chuckled and turned around in his chair to face her.

                “Emily, we are going to include her in the test and that is an order. The longer she goes untested the more unstable she will be when her powers do come in.” Emily nodded. “Now bring these clothes down to her and bring her that tray of food as well.” The soldier, Emily, nodded and left with the items. Bane sighed and leaned back in his chair. The door opened again and in walked a smaller figure. “Took you long enough to get here.” The figure rolled its eyes and Bane laughed. “Do you have it?” The figure stayed silent but produced an object that looked like a compass. The needle was going crazy and Bane stared at it in wonder. “Perfect, now we can find the missing test subject.”

Adam

                “…And that’s how we ended up here.” Hester finally finished and Charlie looked around them. She was still in her clothes from the tour and her blonde hair was a mess. Adam stared at her with worry in his face. It was still so weird that she was awake and it concerned him greatly.

                “So what you’re saying is that when we climbed into those tubes, we gained some kind of power and we have no idea what it is?” Hester nodded and Charlie looked at the floor.

“So far only Zach has gained his power, and that’s speed. But don’t worry, Adam is working on a plan to escape.” Charlie nodded and sat back against the bars. Somewhere in the room a door opened and in walked a soldier.

                “Which one of you is Charlie?” Charlie raised her hand and the soldier walked over. “Get up,” she said as she opened the door. Charlie walked out and fear ran through Adam.

                “Where are you taking her?” The soldier ignored him as she guided Charlie out of the room, the door shutting behind them. “What the hell was that?” Hester shook her head and Zach just stared at the door. About ten minutes passed and Charlie came back in, her clothes gone and food in her hand. “Charlie what happened? Where are your clothes?”

                “I was told that beginning tomorrow I was to take the test. What are they talking about?” Adam cursed and leaned back against the gate.

                “It means we all need to get some rest because tomorrow will be brutal.” Charlie nodded and they all laid down. Adam began to think of his plan, now that Zach had his powers. It was hard to focus since he didn’t have the rest of the pieces to make the full picture, so instead he decided to let sleep pull him in.

* * *

 

                “Wake up everyone, it’s time for breakfast.” Adam groaned as the same female soldier from yesterday came in and set trays in the cages. Breakfast today was eggs and sausage, with a glass of water. Once they had finished breakfast, the four began to rise when the soldier stopped Zach. “We don’t need you out there since you have your powers. However, someone will be in here to handle you.” Zach looked at all of them with concern and Adam gave him a slight nod. Zach sat back down as they walked outside.

                “Hello subjects, glad you could join us Charlie, I was beginning to worry.” She glared at him and spit on the ground in front of him. The soldier guarding her tighten his grip on her arm and Bane laughed. “At ease soldier, she is just being grouchy.” He turned around and gestured to the course behind them. There were a bunch of different things scattered about and Adam became worried. “The first thing on today’s agenda is a test of electromagnetics. I’m sure you know what this is so let’s begin. Now Hester is up first. I want you to focus and try and levitate this car.” She sighed and walked up to the car. None of them passes this test, or the next one. This pattern went on for half of the day and the final test regarded fire. Bane claimed that there was a rare power in which someone could spawn fire from the tip of their fingers. Adam went first. He closed his eyes and deeply focused and nothing happened. Charlie went next and the same thing. Bane turned to Hester and she closed her eyes as well. All of a sudden, there was a small flame in her hand and she opened her eyes. “Excellent! Guards take them back to their cells we are done for the day.” Bane walked away as the guards pulled them back towards the building. When they were back in their cages, Zach looked up at them and he looked exhausted.

                “What did they do to you Zach?” Charlie asked as the guards left. He shook his head and looked at the door. When the guards were gone Zach turned back to them.

                “They took me into a room and ran some tests on me, you know, the normal stuff like blood pressure and stuff. And then they tested my powers to see my durability. I ran almost 20 miles in the span of a minute, and then I had to do laps around the track three times. My best time was 6 seconds and that was 5 laps around. It was brutal and I was almost passing out when I was done. Did anyone else get their powers?” Charlie and Adam looked at Hester and she opened her hand to a tiny flame in her palm. “Oh, that’s awesome. You’re like El Diablo from Suicide Squad!” Charlie giggled and both Hester and Adam looked at each other in confusion.

                “Look, Charlie and I are the only ones who haven’t discovered their powers yet, and we’ve been here for a month now. It’s starting to get scary that we’ve been here so long. Tomorrow is going to be hard if we fail because it could mean that Bane won’t need us anymore.” They all nodded as they began to prepare to sleep. Adam looked over at Hester who was staring at the flame in her palm, worry painted on her face. “Hester, I’m sure you will be fine tomorrow.” She nodded and laid down, falling asleep within seconds. Adam sighed and laid down, hoping he was right.

Charlie

                “Good morning Adam and Charlie, I am sure that you are curious as to why you are not outside today.” They were sitting in a room that resembled an interrogation room, facing each other. Bane was somewhere behind the window in the room and Charlie was worried for this test. “Today we will be testing mind control and thought processes. This is another rare talent that not many have, and we will first start with Adam. Charlie, I want you to think of something and Adam will try to read and manipulate your thoughts.” Charlie stared in horror at the speaker in the room as Adam closed his eyes. Charlie thought about the first time she ever met Adam and how she had thought he was strange at first.

                “Nothing is happening. I don’t see anything,” Adam sighed as he looked at the window.

                “I see. Charlie? It’s your turn.” Charlie looked at Adam and she closed her eyes and focused. An image bloomed into her mind and she saw something that was odd. It was her, but she was sitting outside in the grass studying. There was softness and joy surrounding the image and Charlie let out a gasp.

                “What was that Adam?” He didn’t look at her and Bane came in the room.

                “Charlie, I need you to tell me if you saw something.” She nodded and Bane looked at Adam. “Come with me Adam.” He looked at Charlie briefly and then left with Bane. When they left another scientist came in with a mini TV.

                “Good morning Charlie, I am Dr. Yung. I am going to be doing further tests on your abilities. What I want you to do is tell me what images show up on this screen. Can you do that or me?” Charlie nodded and focused on the TV.

                “Race car. Umbrella. Kangaroo. Earth. Garden. Lamp.” The scientist nodded and wrote something down. Charlie let out a small sigh as she thought about what she saw in Adams mind.

* * *

 

                “Did you find out you powers Adam,” Hester asked as they were eating their last meal of the day. Adam had avoided Charlie’s stare ever since he came back. Adam nodded and Hester let out a whoop. “So what is it?”

                “Ironically enough, super human strength. He had me lift up different objects and my limit was a huge 18 wheeler truck. Bane said something about how we are going to be doing something different tomorrow. I don’t know how different, but we need to be prepared for whatever comes.” They all nodded and Zach let out a huge yawn.

                “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to hit the hay.” Hester nodded in agreement and they both went to sleep. Adam sighed and looked over at Charlie.

                “Look, I know you want to know what you saw, but even I can’t explain it.” She nodded and turned away. “What was your thought when I had my turn?” 

                “I was thinking about the first time I met you and how I thought you were strange at first. Would you hate me if I said that I still thought you were strange?” Adam chuckled and shook his head.

                “I think you’re pretty strange myself. You and Lauren both were a couple of weirdos. I think that’s why I was drawn to you both all of those years ago.” Charlie laughed and looked at Adam. “Get some rest Charlie. We need to prepare for what’s to come.” Nodding in agreement, she laid down and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so rushed at the end, I didn't want to make it too long and I was struggling to wrap up the chapter. Hope you enjoy this sloppy thing!

Zach

(9 months later)

                It’s been nine months. Nine months of tests, crappy food, and being stuck in these cages. Adam had said that today was the day that they would make their escape, but he didn’t tell them the plan. All of them had reached their peak in regards to their powers, and Bane had said that they were ready for the next step. It sounded menacing, and Zach got a strange feeling about this. Today they had gotten a free day to rest up before tomorrow’s activity but they were still locked up in their cages. The only addition to their cage in the past 9 months were pillows and a blanket, and that was because back in November Charlie had gotten sick with the flu due to the cold temperatures. It was now June and everyone was preparing for their escape. The first step started with Hester, who would complain about something wrong with her and then Charlie would use her powers to get them out.

                “When are we going to enact this plan Adam?” Hester asked him last night, and they all looked at him.

                “When they bring us our meal tomorrow. That’s when we will strike.” They all nodded and went to bed, all of them except Zach. He looked over at his friends and began to think about everything that could go wrong tomorrow and it terrified him.  He knew that thinking about this issue would cause him to overanalyze this and then it would make everything fall apart. Sighing, he had laid down and closed his eyes.

* * *

 

                “Ok guys, it’s time,” Adam whispered as the door opened. In walked a huge soldier who was carrying trays of food. Hester began to moan and the soldier walked over to her cage.

                “Quit your moaning, or I’ll be forced to hit you till you stop.”

                “Oh but sir, it’s my chest! It feels so tight, like I’m going to explode.” He sighed and opened her cage. Adam glanced over at Charlie and nodded. She closed her eyes and suddenly the soldier stopped. He looked at the rest of the cages and unlocked the rest of them. Adam hit him hard upside the head with his tray and tossed the soldier into the cage. They grabbed his keys and ran for the door.

                “Everyone be ready; we are going to be fighting a lot of people.” They all nodded and Zach kicked open the door. Immediately, alarms started blaring and they all ran to the left. The base was like a maze and it was terrifying.

                “YOU THERE! HALT!” A voice beckoned behind them and Zach turned. About 20 soldiers were behind them and Hester stepped forward. A huge wall of fire emerged and it advanced toward the soldiers. The group didn’t stay long to see the results, instead quickly they ran farther into the base.

                “Adam, we’re never going to get out of here! It’s a maze in this place,” Charlie moaned as they rounded a corner and came to a halt. It was a dead end.

                “Quick, in here,” a voice whispered from inside a room and Charlie opened the door. There stood the female soldier that had helped them over the past nine months. They ran in and she guided them through the room.

                “Thank you for helping us,” Adam said as they continued on. The soldier turned and looked at them.

                “The best way to thank me is to remember my name and do me one favor because I fear I will not survive through this. My name is Emily.”

                “What is your favor Emily,” Hester asked as Emily turned back around led them to the door.

                “Find my parents? Tell them I went down with honor. Their names are Lily and Owen. I am from New York City, near Times Square. I haven’t seen them in 13 years.” Hester nodded and gave Emily a hug. Emily smiled as she pulled out her gun and beckoned them to go behind her.

                “We will. I promise.” The door behind them flew open with a bang as a bunch of soldiers ran in.

                “GO! Follow this route and it will take you to where we store our military vehicles. Don’t use the GPS because they will be able to track you easier. Run now, before they capture you!” They ran through the door and Zach looked back in time to see Emily drop as a soldier shot her down. He gasped and turned back and ran.

Adam

                “We need to move quickly, there are a lot of soldiers on the way and the garage is still another level down,” Adam said as they all hid behind a wall. There were two soldiers standing in front of the door that led downstairs. “Charlie, can you cause a distraction?” She nodded and walked around the corner. There was a pause and then a thud and they walked past the two passed out soldiers. Running down the stairs, Adam thought about what they were going to do when they got to the garage. The stairs were steep and they moved with caution. When they got to the door, Adam pulled it open and they all filed in.

                “Adam,” Charlie warned and Adam looked up to see Bane, Giles and a bunch of me standing in front of the cars they needed to escape.

                “You really thought you could get away? First you cost me my best cadet, although she deserved her end for committing treason, and now you’re going to steal our cars. You won’t get away from your destiny.” Adam glared at Bane and glanced over at Hester. She looked back at him and nodded, stepping forward and closing her eyes. The men gasped and stepped back as Hester was engulfed in flames. She raised her arms and a column of fire shot forward. “Hold your ground men!” Bane screamed out, but it was too late, the men were all gone. Adam shot forward and opened the door of a Jeep and climbed in. Charlie piled into the front seat and Zach climbed in back. Hester emerged from the flames and jumped in next to Zach. Adam turned the keys and stepped on the gas. The shot forward and knocked over Bane, who started screaming for their death. Speeding through the tunnel, Adam went to turn on the GPS and Charlie stopped him.

                “Remember what Emily said, we can’t do that.” Adam nodded and ripped the GPS off and tossed it out the window. They made it outside finally and Adam took a deep breath. It felt good to feel real air again.

                “Adam what are we going to do now,” Hester asked as she looked back.

                “We have to go back to the university and get our money and supplies. Otherwise we can’t get anywhere.” They all nodded and Adam focused on the road.

* * *

 

                Pulling into the university was the easy part. What was hard was getting back to the rooms unseen. They tasked Zach with going to their rooms and waited in the car. About an hour later, Zach came back with all of their money and a huge duffle full of their clothes.     

                “How did you get in without being seen?” Adam asked in surprise as Zach handed them some clothes.

                “I waited for someone to open the door and I zipped past them silently. And for some reason, Charlie and Hester’s room was unlocked and I grabbed what I could before anyone saw me. Same deal for our room Adam.” They all gave each other a worried look.

                “I think they know we’re here, we have to move fast. We should find a hotel room to crash at and decide our plan,” Hester said and they all nodded. Getting back in the Jeep, Adam looked back at the school one last time before pulling away. Little did they know that they would never be coming back again.

* * *

 

                The group found a run-down motel about 5 miles away from the school and luckily there was a vacancy. The room had two beds, one couch and a small fridge.

                “So how are we splitting the beds?” Zach joked as they walked in.

                “Hester and I can share a bed and you and Adam can take the other.” They all agreed and Hester plopped down on the bed.

                “It’s a little lumpy, but it will make do.” Charlie sat down next to her as Adam investigated the bathroom. There was a small shower, a toilet and a small sink. It certainly had the rustic charm that was on the outside. Adam chuckled and went back into the main room.

                “So what’s the plan guys? Now that we’re free what are we doing?” Charlie asked and Adam thought about this.

                Zach leapt up and pulled off his scrub top. “I don’t know about you but I’m getting out of these grungy clothes.” Charlie made a noise and looked away and Adam saw Hester blush and turn redder than her hair.

                “Zach maybe go change in the bathroom?” Zach realized what Adam meant and nodded as he proceeded into the bathroom. “Minus that extremely awkward encounter, Zach is right. We need knew clothes and a new hide out far from here. I think Charlie and Zach should go to the bank tomorrow and empty out everything we have so that we have enough money to keep us afloat. And Hester, you and I can start coming up with a plan as to where we are going next.”

                “Our first stop is New York,” Hester said as she laid back down on the bed, “We promised Emily that we would tell her parents what happened and they deserve to know what their daughter did for us. And after that, I have no idea what we are going to do. Obviously Bane is going to be searching for us, which means we’re officially fugitives. I guess we won’t be able to ever see our parents again?” Adam nodded and Hester sighed. “Well then I guess we’re going to have to start trying to figure out how to get rid of these powers. It’s the only way we can go back to our normal lives.”

                “Hester,” Charlie sat down next to her, “Once we entered those tubes our lives were sealed into this fate. We can never be ‘normal’ again.” Before Hester could said anything, Zach came out of the bathroom in jeans and his university t-shirt. 

                “I agree with Hester; we need to figure out a way to get rid of these powers. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be able to run like a freaking cheetah anymore. The hard thing is finding where to even start with trying to get rid of these powers.” They all nodded in agreement. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I have about nine months of eating real food to catch up on. Who wants delivery?”

Bane

                “Sir, here is the traitor soldier Emily, what do we do with her?” Bane looked at the girl, her brown hair splayed across her face and her eyes glassed over. He sighed and turned away.

                “Give her a proper burial. She may have committed treason, but she still fought with honor.” The soldier nodded and carried her away. Bane looked around the hallway at the mess that was left behind in the escape and shook his head. “I know you’re behind me. What news do you have?” He turned to see the figure again. This time, a face was forming, but it was still hard to tell who the mysterious figure was.

                “There have been sightings of the missing one. She is somewhere hidden away from our eyes, but my people have found her general area. She has started to show signs of her mutation, but it is still unclear as to what it is.” Nodding, Bane looked over at the scorch spot from the wall of fire.

                “We must get to her before the others do. If they discover there is a fifth, then our plans are over.” The figure remained silent but gave a knowing look. The figure vanished and a small voice came from behind Bane.

                “Uncle Bane? What is going on here?” He turned to see his niece behind him. She stared up him with her deep blue eyes and her silver hair flowing. He chuckled and put his hand on her shoulder.

                “Don’t worry my dear, everything will be better eventually. Just a little disruption.” The girl nodded and left with one of the soldiers. He sighed, hoping his words were true.

Charlie

                “Hey Zach, can I ask you something?” They were driving to the bank, and Charlie was deep in her thoughts. Zach turned and looked at her with curiosity.

                “What’s up Charlie?”

                “Do you think that we were supposed to get these powers?” He looked at her with wide eyes and thought about this.

                “I don’t know in all honesty. I feel like we stumbled upon those tubes on accident, but I think that it was good that we did.” Charlie nodded and turned back to the road. A few moments passed and Zach turned the radio down. “So, you and Adam huh?” Charlie shot up, which resulted in her banging her knee on the dashboard.

                “What do you mean Adam and I?” He chuckled and looked at her.

                “I see how he looks at you, and you at him. Look Charlie, I know you still blame him for Lauren, but you need to understand that it really wasn’t his fault and holding him accountable for it for this long isn’t going to make anything better. And it certainly won’t bring Lauren back and rewrite what happened. I don’t know what it feels like, but you have to understand that he is just as torn up about it as you are. So maybe lay off him just a little bit?” Charlie remained quiet, and Zach sighed.

                “Ok.” He looked at her with a small smile and she smiled back at him.

                “So you and Hester then, when was that a thing?” Zach swerved a bit and Charlie laughed. “I’m teasing you!” Zach gave a nervous laughter and Charlie looked at him. “Oh. My. GOD! You do like her!”

                “What are you talking about? She’s my friend Charlie.” He looked back at the road and Charlie laughed. They pulled into the bank parking lot and Charlie opened the door.

                “Ok, let’s do this.”

* * *

 

                An hour and a lot of mind controlling later, Charlie and Zach emerged from the bank with two duffle bags full of cash and their accounts cancelled as to not leave any trace. They got back into the Jeep and drove back to the motel. Opening the door, Charlie tossed the duffels onto the couch.

                “How did it go,” Hester asked as Zach plopped down on the bed next to her. Charlie shot him a look and he blushed. She cleared her throat and explained how it took them a lot of manipulating in order to get all four accounts drained and cancelled. She talked about how the manager was hard to convince because he was so rigid and how Zach had to turn on his charm to get the man to let up.

                “And then finally we managed to leave with over $4000 combined between the four of us. I managed to get a mixture of different bills so that it wasn’t just $100 bills.”

                “That’s genius Charlie!” Hester leapt up and hugged her. Charlie smiled and hugged her back, and she looked at Zach. He looked at them with a warm smile and she nodded at him in understanding.

                “Hey Hester, where’s Adam,” Zach asked as Hester sat back down on the bed.

                “He ran to the main office to ask about where the local library was and he said he’d be back soon.” Zach nodded and Charlie looked at the door.

                “I’ll be in the bathroom if you need me, it was gross outside and I need a shower.” Hester and Zach nodded at her and she shut the door behind her. Looking in the mirror, Charlie thought about what Zach said and sighed. Turning the shower on, Charlie stripped her clothes off and stepped in. A few minutes later Charlie turned the shower off and stepped out of the shower, only to realize she hadn’t brought her change of clothes in. “Great,” she mumbled as she wrapped a towel around herself and grabbed her dirty clothes. Opening the bathroom door, Charlie discovered that the room was empty. _Weird_ , she thought and she ran over to the duffle bag with all of the clothes in it. She grabbed a bunch of different things and turned just in time to see Adam walking in. Time froze and Charlie let out a gasp. To his credit, Adam’s eyes didn’t drift down further than her lips and he turned a bright shade of red.

                “Um, hey.”

                “Hey,” Charlie squeaked and Adam began to look everywhere but her. “I’m going to go…”

                “Yeah no go do that.” She ran past him and paused at the door. Adam was staring back at her and she sighed. Shutting the door behind her, she let out a frustrated noise and sank to the floor. Changing quickly, she opened the door to see Adam had moved to the bed where he was sitting quietly. “Sorry about that Charlie, I should’ve knocked or something, it was dumb- “Whatever he was going to say next was cut off as Charlie pulled him into a hug.

                “I forgive you. For everything.” Adam let out a small cry and tightened the hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes and then Charlie pulled away. She looked at Adam, who’s green eyes were slightly watery and she smiled.

                “Truce?” He stuck out his hand and Charlie laughed. She shook it and nodded. A moment passed and Charlie’s eyes flickered down to Adam’s lips. She wondered what would happen if she leaned forward and met them with hers. Before she could, he answered that thought for her and kissed her. It only lasted a second but it left Charlie breathless. “Sorry I shouldn’t have done that; I don’t know what came over me. Please forgive me?” Charlie looked him in the eyes and then answered his question by pulling him into another kiss. They stayed there for a few moments before Adam pulled away and laughed. “I guess we’re all good then.” Charlie punched his shoulder and he pulled her back into another hug. Charlie sighed and gave a small smile.

Hester

                It was extremely hot outside and Hester was suffering. Because they were taken in the winter, she didn’t have any of her summer clothes and she was regretting sending her summer stuff home super early. Zach had suggested going to the mall to get new clothes so that they could blend in better and Hester couldn’t agree more. Currently Hester was in Forever 21 picking up some clothes for herself and Charlie. She knew that Charlie had a certain style and she was keeping a good eye out for it.

                “Hey Hester, think Adam will like this?” Hester turned around to see Zach holding up a v neck black shirt with a white pocket on it. It was a light fabric and Hester nodded. After a few more minutes of searching they checked out and left the store. “Hey it’s getting a little late, want to stop somewhere for dinner?” She nodded and they went to the food court to grab something to eat. Zach picked Chinese and Hester went with a sandwich from Subway.

                “So have you noticed a difference with Adam and Charlie?” Zach looked up from his Chinese and gave her a questioning look. “I mean like the way they act around each other lately. Something changed when we were in that base, and I think they’re starting to become attracted to each other. Or at least Adam is, I can’t tell with Charlie. Then again she’s always had a wall around her that keeps her from getting hurt, ever since the accident.”

                “I know what you mean. I actually talked to Charlie, and I think that whatever she felt for Adam in the past is currently being rewritten but I can’t tell for sure. She seems very shut off when it comes to him, and I just hope for both of their sakes that they get over it quickly.” Hester nodded and looked over at Zach. He was definitely in his comfort zone which gave him a sense of relaxation and Hester could tell that he was glad to be here. She looked at him and took in his characteristics. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes, and his face was chiseled. He was quite attractive and Hester could feel herself blushing so she looked down at her half eaten sandwich. About 20 minutes later, Hester and Zach were leaving the mall when Hester stopped. “Hester what’s wrong?”

                “There’s men at the Jeep.” Zach looked up and sure enough there were three men in suits standing at the Jeep. Hester slowly made her way over to another car and observed them. “We need a distraction, Zach can you- “Hester looked up in time to see Zach making his way over to the Jeep, a slouch in his step. Hester couldn’t hear what they were saying but all of a sudden the men started shouting and trying to grab Zach but he zipped away from them with ease. Hester took that as her cue and ran to the Jeep, tossing everything in the back. She started the car and saw in the rearview that the men were starting to come back. Flooring it, Hester took off to the exit of the mall. Within seconds, Zach was next to her in the car and they were driving away.

* * *

 

                Hester pulled into the motel and leapt out of the car. Zach grabbed everything and they burst through the door to find Adam and Charlie.

                “We’ve got to move quickly guys, they found us,” Hester said with urgency. Adam jumped up and quickly shoved everything into one of the bags and Charlie grabbed everything from the bathroom that would be of value. Zach ran into the office and checked them out and the four of them took off. It was almost 8 by the time they pulled over again. They had been driving for about three hours north and they were now somewhere in North Virginia. Hester pulled into a run-down hotel with the ‘O’ missing and stopped the car.

                “How did they find us?” Charlie asked finally as they checked into a room. Zach shrugged and they dropped their stuff off. Hester plopped down on the bed next to Charlie and Adam sat down on the couch. This room was slightly nicer than the last one, but it was still dingy. “We need to get off the grid immediately because I fear that if they catch us we are screwed.” They all nodded and Adam sighed.

                “I think it might be easier if we all just get some sleep tonight, we’re all running on fumes.” They all nodded in agreement and everyone took turns in the bathroom and changing. “Get some sleep everyone, we will reconvene in the morning.” Hester curled up in the bed and sighed. Hopefully tomorrow would bring better news.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with this chapter's ending and honestly I'm just struggling overall with this story because I get writers block so frequently oops. But hey life happens. Btw the next chapter is going to delve a little more into a character that is important to this story and it will maybe(?) delve a little into Hester and Zach's relationship. I have no idea what I am doing yikes.

Adam

                A month had gone by since the mall incident and there was no progress on uncovering the cure to what had happened to them. They had been to every library, every scholar and nothing. It was starting to affect them all and Adam tried to be strong for them all, but he knew it was getting harder.  They were currently in a dingy restaurant eating burgers when Charlie sat up straight.

                “Charlie,” Adam asked slowly, “what’s wrong?” She looked at him with realization on her face.

                “We’ve been looking in all the wrong places. We’re trying to find a cure for our powers, but we really should be looking for information on Ghantridine. If we can figure out information on this chemical, then it should lead us to the cure for these powers.” They all stared at Charlie.

                “That’s actually not a bad idea,” Zach mumbled around his burger and Hester smacked him upside the head. He yelped in protest and Adam chuckled and shook his head. Swallowing, Zach looked out the window. “So how can we find information on a chemical that’s been kept inside a government facility for years now?” No one responded and they continued to eat their food. After they paid and left, they drove back to the motel they were currently at. Hester had decided that it may be best to move motels every once in a while to avoid being tracked. They were currently somewhere in Maryland and the hotel was the nicest one they had stayed in. Flopping on the bed, Charlie began to look on the computer they had stolen for information on Ghantridine. Adam looked at her and he felt his heart race a bit.

                “Hey Adam, Hester and I are going to go get some supplies for the road. Do you need anything?” Adam looked over at Zach and shook his head. Zach looked at Charlie and then back at Adam and winked. They left and Adam looked back at Charlie. She was still staring at the screen and Adam sighed.

                “What’re you looking at there Charlie,” Adam asked as he slid next to Charlie. She blinked up and looked at him in confusion.

                “This article is talking about the history of Ghantridine, but there’s no mention of how it affects humans. I just wish we knew what exactly to look up, it would make this so much easier. I can tell that we’re all getting tired of running and searching, but I just don’t know how to fix it.” Adam nodded and pulled Charlie into a hug. She sighed into his shoulder and hugged him back.

                “Maybe we need to look at something different. Here, hand me the computer.” Charlie pulled away and passed the computer over. Adam leaned back against the head board and Charlie scooched next to him. “Let me see if this works…” He typed in something into a new browser and instantly new articles popped up everywhere There were people who talked about how they had been tested on for powers and they were sent home because they were ‘failures’, and then there were articles about people who weren’t able to fit back into society because they were different.

                “Adam you’re brilliant!”

                “I’m not brilliant, I just figured maybe we were the only ones out in the world who knew about what had happened in that base.” Charlie looked at Adam with pure joy and hugged him. He hugged her back and they laid there for a few moments. Clearing his throat, Adam sat up. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

                “I guess, what’s on?” Adam turned the TV on and almost instantly, something started to play. Adam couldn’t tell what it was until Charlie started to freak out. “Is this Deadpool?” Adam looked back at the TV and sure enough it was. “I love this movie so much.”

                “Me too oh my god.” They got comfortable and watched Deadpool together. Things were going fine until the infamous 365 day sex scene, and Adam looked away from the screen so that Charlie didn’t see how red he was. When it was over, he looked back and saw that she was staring at him with a weird look on her face. “Are you ok Charlie?”                

                “You know I can read your thoughts right?” Adam groaned and looked away. “And because I know you’re thinking about it; no I don’t regret kissing you. But at the same time I need you to understand that this is all very new for me and I am very overwhelmed. But in all honesty, kissing you made a lot of things better.” Adam turned in surprised and was instantly met with Charlie’s lips against his. His heart flared with heat and he felt his face flush as she pulled away. He pulled her in closer and they watched the rest of the movie in peace. Adam knew that it would be tricky to figure this out, but it was going to be worth it.

Hester

                “Was it a mistake, leaving them alone in the hotel?” Zach laughed and shook his head.

                “Trust me, they’re going to be fine.” Hester sighed and leaned back into the bench that they were currently sitting on. When they had left the hotel, Hester had questioned Zach about supplies and Zach had explained why he had pulled them out. They were now at the local grocery store with some basic supplies at their feet.

                “Do you really think Charlie has something for Adam? After all this time and everything that happened?” Zach looked over at Hester and nodded.

                “Trust me, I talked to her about it and I know that there’s something there. I’m more worried that Adam will be too scared to make a move on her.”

                “Oh trust me. He wants to. We talked the day you went to the bank and he said that he didn’t think she would ever feel anything for him, especially because of Lauren. I just hope they finally grew up and figured everything out.”

                “Exactly. It shouldn’t be hard for them to figure out they like each other and just confess that!”

                “I know!” Hester sighed and looked over at Zach. He was hunched over on the bench and she put her hand on his shoulder. “Is there something else on your mind?” He looked up at her and smiled.

                “Kind of, but it’s not important.”

                “Zach, everything is important.” He shook his head and stood up.

                “I appreciate that Hester, but trust me we have bigger problems than my feelings for- “He stopped himself mid-sentence and looked away. “We should get back and make sure they didn’t destroy the hotel.” Hester nodded and looked at the back of Zach’s head. She wished he would just say what she hoped he would say: his feelings for her.

* * *

 

                They arrived at the hotel a few minutes later and Zach sighed.

                “Look, I’m going to be honest with you Hester, I suck when it comes to feelings and stuff. I’ve never been good at admitting them to people, and it’s just hard to do. I hope you understand?” Hester nodded and grabbed his hand. Squeezing it, she looked him in the eyes.

                “Zach, I am here if you need anything ok? Don’t hesitate to talk to me.” He nodded and they got out of the car. “Well, it doesn’t sound like anyone is killing the other in there, maybe we’re safe to go in?” Zach laughed and opened the door. The sight Hester saw was something she thought she would never see. Both Adam and Charlie were on one of the beds and the TV was playing something quietly in the background. Adam had his one arm around Charlie and she was asleep on his shoulder. He was sleeping on her head and their hands were interlocked in the middle. Hester looked at Zach and Zach put a finger to his mouth. He slowly walked over to the bed and yelled at the top of his lungs. Suddenly, Charlie bolted awake and Adam groaned at the outburst.

                “Whoa how long were you guys gone?”

                “About an hour. How’d you sleep?” Charlie flipped Zach the finger and Adam threw a pillow at him. Hester laughed as Zach got knocked on his ass due to how much force Adam put behind the throw. “Okay, okay, I surrender!” Adam chuckled and Hester started to put the food they picked up away.

                “So sleeping beauty, what did you find on Ghantridine.” Adam glared at Hester and opened the laptop.

                “We found an article on someone who was kidnapped at a young age and was recently returned to her home in D.C. She had the same features Bane said about the failures: the pale papery skin, hollow eyes and dead hair. People thought that she was just on drugs but she was mumbling about a chemical they had injected in her. I don’t think it was just the North Carolina base that was testing on humans, I think it’s other bases too.” The air around them felt thick with this information and Charlie stood up.

                “We should go talk to her, maybe she can help us!” Hester stood up next to Charlie and nodded.

                “If this girl got out as well maybe she knows more about the chemical.”

                “We can’t guarantee it Hester. It’s highly unlikely that she knows anything.”

                “It can’t hurt to go and investigate it at least. It’s the best lead we have.” Adam stood up and began to pack up their duffel bag.

                “Hester’s right Zach, it’s our only lead.” Zach sighed.

                “Fine, but I’m driving.”

Charlie

                After three hours of driving they finally got to where the woman, Margaret Hopkins, lived and it was clear that they might have some problems getting to her. There were government officials surrounding her house on all sides and it made Charlie nervous.

                “Do you think they know about all of the test subjects of Ghantridine?” Charlie looked at Adam and shrugged.

                “It’s possible. But we have an advantage over them. Hester, cause a distraction.” Hester nodded and stood up. Charlie watched as a pillar of fire made its way across the street. Cries of fear rang out as some of the agents began to run away. Adam stood up and lifted up a nearby car and tossed it over to the other side of the street. It took out another car and more of the agents ran away. Zach grabbed a large stick and zipped past the agents, knocking them to their feet. Charlie ran to the front door of the house and kicked it in.

                “Margaret! Are you in here?” Hester yelled as they all entered the house. Zach shut the door and Hester melted the lock so that no one could follow them in. The house was filled with crap everywhere and Charlie had to watch her step to avoid stepping on anything. It was clear that Margaret was a packrat and it was so crowded.

                “Margaret, we need to ask you some questions,” Adam called as they proceeded through the house. There was an unnerving silence and Charlie was getting a weird vibe from the house. “I don’t know why she won’t answer.”

                “Um, guys?” Zach called from down the hall. They ran to meet up with him and when they turned the corner, Charlie let out a cry. Sitting in a kitchen chair was Margaret Hopkins with a knife in her chest and a note on it. Zach grimaced and wrapped a towel around the knife to avoid getting his fingerprints on it. He took the note in his other hand. It read in chilling letters “Stop searching”.

                “Poor Margaret. Do you think it was Bane,” Hester asked as Zach set the knife down and ripped the note up.

                “Possibly. Maybe he knows that we’re searching for a cure to these powers and wants us to let it go.” Charlie turned away from Margaret and left the room. She found a space on a couch and sunk down, a sob escaping.

                “Charlie?” She looked up to see Hester and she could feel her eyes burning. “Hey it’s ok sweetie, there’s nothing we could’ve done to prevent this.” She pulled Charlie into a hug and Charlie sobbed into Hester’s shoulder. It was as if the universe wanted them to suffer with these powers and Charlie was beginning to get overwhelmed. This was the first lead that they had and it was gone. Charlie sniffled and Hester looked her in the eyes. “Look, I know everything is getting harder for us to handle, but we have to stay strong. It’s going to be a challenge but I know we can pull through it.” Charlie nodded and dried her eyes off. Standing up, she let Hester lead her back into the kitchen where Adam and Zach were whispering about something. They stopped when the girls walked in and Zach walked over to Charlie and pulled her into a hug.

                “Thank you guys, I’m sorry for that. It’s just hard for me to keep going when all hope seems lost.”

                “Of course Charlie, we understand,” Adam said as Zach pulled away. Charlie reached her hand out and Adam took it in his. “We should probably leave before the police show up, otherwise we’ll be back in a cage.” They all nodded and Hester led them outside. Charlie noticed that Adam still had her hand in his and for some odd reason she felt a surge of happiness. When they got outside, something felt wrong to Charlie.

                “Guys, something’s not right.” They all looked at her and she closed her eyes and listened. The wind rushed around her and she couldn’t hear anything, but she knew that there was someone with them. “Hello? Is anyone here?” There was silence, and Charlie concentrated on the air around her. She felt a presence behind her and she turned quickly. There stood a small figure in a cloak, smoke billowing around the figure. “Who are you?” The figure lifted up the hood and Charlie gasped. The face under the hood was a mixture of many faces, and staring at it for too long made Charlie’s head hurt.

                “I am the eyes and ears of the government, the first successful test subject of Ghantridine. You must cease your search, or it will have catastrophic outcomes. The government knows who you are, and if you are not careful, they will come after you with more than me. I have been instructed to give you this warning, and if you choose to ignore it, then they will have no choice but to come after you.” The figure turned and walked away. The hooded figure vanished in a cloud of smoke and Charlie groaned.

                “So now what can we do?” Hester looked at her with a grin on her face.

                “Charlie Vanderbelt, since when have you EVER given up on something because there was danger behind it?” Charlie looked at Hester and smiled.

                “You’re right. So let’s keep making our way up to New York and do what we promised.” They all nodded and Zach let out a nervous laughter.

                “Yeah, um about that. The Jeep may or may not be destroyed.” Charlie looked at him and followed the direction he was pointing to. Sure enough, the Jeep was currently on fire and Charlie sighed.

                “So, who knows how to hijack a car?”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a lot longer than the last 6 and I may try to write more like this. Also progress in relationships make me happy, but I tried not to make it too overbearing. Also I debated deeply on splitting them up but I felt like it was necessary to do. Speaking of that, the gang is going to be split up for a few chapters. Also shout out to the people reading this lol

Zach

                It was now August and the weather was starting to get cold. Zach had convinced Hester to keep their winter clothes with them to make sure they didn’t have to spend more money. The team had made it to a small town in New Jersey. It had been a few weeks since Margaret’s house and they were keeping low on their activity to avoid being tracked. Zach was starting to get worried about their progress and the fact that they had to keep a low profile. Both Zach and Hester could tell that something was changed in their group and it had something to do with Adam and Charlie. They had been skirting around Zach and Hester for a bit now, always acting suspicious when they were near and trying to keep things secretive. One day, Zach couldn’t take it anymore. They were at a restaurant and every time Adam and Charlie made any sort of contact it would set off a string of apologies.

                “OH MY GOD WOULD YOU TWO JUST DATE ALREADY? WE KNOW YOU LIKE EACH OTHER!” Zach screamed out at them after the 30th time they had apologized that day. Everyone in the restaurant turned and stared at Zach and Hester groaned. Adam and Charlie both stiffened and Zach sighed.

                “Way to be subtle Zach,” Hester whispered as Adam shot Zach the dirtiest look ever.

                “Look I’m sorry, but we both know that you guys have feelings for each other and I know that you’re trying to keep it under wraps for Hester and I, but just knock it off and be happy ok? We deserve happiness right now, and if you find happiness in each other then so be it.” Charlie stared at Zach with wide eyes and Adam glared at him.

                “So kids what are you getting today?” Their waitress came over before Adam could say anything.

                “I’ll take a milkshake please,” Hester said.

                “Me too,” Charlie chimed in.

                “And what about you boys?” The waitress asked.

                “Burger.” Adam and Zach said in unison. The waitress wrote everything down and walked away. A few minutes later and everyone ate in silence. After paying and leaving the restaurant, they drove back to their current motel. It was by far the nicest one they had stayed in, and Zach flopped down onto the bed.

                “So guys, I think I found a new lead on our search. There is an article on this student at the University of Sciences who is doing her research on Ghantridine and its effects on humans. Maybe if we try and get there and talk to her, she can help us!” Charlie showed them the article on her laptop and everyone was intrigued. The girl, Karen Hart, was a junior at the university and the article talked about how she had first tested the effects on mice and then took some volunteers and gave them small dosages of the chemical. It said that the volunteers reported different abnormal changes in what they could do. “Maybe we should go and talk to this girl and see if she can help us with our powers!” Hester sighed and sat down next to Zach.

                “I still think we should try and get up to New York and fulfill our promise to Emily. She died helping us and the longer we wait to tell her parents the harder it will be,” Hester said. They all paused as they realized that Hester was right. Zach looked at the article and then back at Hester and he got an idea.

                “We need to split up if we want to do both. It’s the only way we’ll be able to do it, and it will make it harder for Bane to track us.” Hester shot Zach a look of shock and confusion and Zach looked right back at her.

                “Zach you can’t be serious. Splitting up can lead to so many bad things. We have to figure out which one to do first, but certainly not splitting up,” Hester rambled and Zach chuckled.

                “Ye have little faith in my plan Hester? I’m truly wounded.” She groaned and smacked him with a pillow and Charlie stifled her laugh.

                “Maybe Zach is right Hester,” Adam said, “If we split up, we will not only be able to cover more ground but it will make it harder for them to find us. The question is since we have only one car, how is the other group going to travel?” Zach thought about this for a bit.

                “I would say maybe a train?” Adam nodded and he pulled the laptop off of Charlie’s lap. Pulling up the train schedule, Adam found that there was a train departing tomorrow from Trenton around 12. The station was about 20 minutes away from their hotel and Adam decided that this was the best offer. “So we need to figure out who’s going with who.” They thought about this and Zach knew what Adam was going to say, so he beat him to the punch.

                “I think Adam and Charlie should go to Philly, with Adam’s strength and Charlie’s mind powers, they’ll be able to get into campus and talk to Karen. Hester and I should go to New York, Hester will be able to talk to Emily’s parents and I can zip around the city and find them. We have about $3,900 dollars left and it will last us, but soon we’re going to need to get more.” Charlie began typing this information down into her computer.

                “But Zach, what should Adam and I do after we talk to this student?” Zach thought about this or a moment. It was a good question, and he wasn’t sure how to answer.

                “You and I can start digging more into the Ghantridine files. I think we should talk to Karen about what happened to us and get her to help us cure our powers.” Charlie nodded and continued typing. “How long do you think it will take to find her parents? We never even got a last name out of her.”

                “Their names are Lily and Owen and she’s from Times Square area. She told me this before she- “He paused and they all looked down. Emily had sacrificed her life to save them and it was going to be hard to repay her.  “So it shouldn’t be too hard to narrow down all of the Lily’s and Owens in that area right?”

                “Already one step ahead of you,” Charlie said as she turned her laptop around. She had managed to look up a news article for missing children in the area and Zach smacked his forehead.

                “Of course! I completely forgot she told us that she was taken at a young age by Bane’s men. Good thinking Charlie!” Charlie grinned and turned her computer back around. Zach stifled a yawn and sat back against the bed. “Ok so it’s getting late, we should probably get some sleep and then we can get ready tomorrow morning. I think we should split the money in half so that we will be able to have some on us for emergencies.” Adam nodded and began to sort the money out. Hester turned onto her side and Zach laid down and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.

Adam

                “So remember the plan we won’t be able to talk over phone or emails, because they can track us. In three weeks’ time, meet up at the rendezvous point in New York and we’ll continue from there.” They were currently on the Trenton Amtrak and Hester was holding onto Charlie’s hand. It was going to be the first time that they had been separated for this long and Adam could tell it was killing Charlie inside. The plan was that Adam and Charlie were going to take the train into Philly and find the university. Charlie was then going to manipulate people to find Karen and they were going to talk to her about what she knew. Adam was there to make sure that if anyone tried to ambush them, they would be able to escape. Zach gave him a short hug and gave Charlie one too, and Adam led her onto the train. Their plan was to find the first hotel and set up camp. It was going to take some time to find the university as they didn’t want to risk GPS signals. Boarding the train, Adam allowed Charlie to sit by the window and he pulled out her laptop. Both Zach and Adam had agreed it would be better for them to take it in case they needed to find more information.

                “Adam, what happens if we get there and something goes wrong?” Adam looked at Charlie and she seemed on the verge of tears.

                “Charlie don’t worry, nothing will go wrong. This is going to work I promise you.” He kissed her on the forehead and she smiled, leaning into his shoulder. It was a few minutes and finally Charlie went to sleep. Adam took this opportunity to do some more research on Ghantridine. After about 20 minutes of searching, he had about a page of information just from scholarly journals, well what little he could find. The train pulled into the station of Philly and Charlie bolted awake. “Good morning sleepyhead. Come on let’s go find a hotel.”

* * *

 

                It took about twenty minutes of walking before Charlie pointed out a hotel that seemed decent. They walked in and booked a single room. Of course the person checked Adam’s I.D to make sure he was actually 18 and within a few minutes they were settling into the room. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a place to crash.

                “So I think our first stop should be to find the university itself. According to the article, its located here,” Adam pointed to a spot on the map. Sure enough, it said in big letters: UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES. Charlie looked at the map and wrote down the address.

                “I hate to say this, but I’m a little hungry, should we get something to eat?” Adam nodded and looked at what was in the area.

                “There’s a pizza place not far from here. Should we go check it out?” Charlie nodded and they left the room. It took about five minutes to walk to the pizza place, and they found a table to sit at. The waitress took their order and then she walked away. Charlie looked at Adam and smiled. He could feel a blush spreading across his neck and he looked away.

                “You know I have the ability to read your mind right?” Adam chuckled and leaned forward and took her hand.

                “Then I guess you know what I’m feeling right now.” Charlie huffed and shook her head at him. Their drinks came and Adam watched Charlie. She was truly beautiful and Adam just couldn’t believe that this was real and that she was here with him. He’d always felt something for her, but never said anything because of Lauren and he just didn’t want to mess it up. So when the accident happened, it killed him inside to see her hatred for him and now that her hatred was replaced with, well whatever she felt, it made him feel so many different things. After a few moments of small talk, their food arrived.

                “So Adam, tomorrow are we going to try and locate Karen? We can’t delay on this.” Adam swallowed his food and nodded.

                “I think I have a plan as to how we will find her. You have the ability to manipulate a person’s thoughts right?” She nodded. “My plan is that we make it seem like we are students and we blend in and try to find Karen. Hopefully we can get to her before Bane does and convince her to help. While we were on the train, I found some more information on Ghantridine and its honestly a scary chemical. It can cause people to literally turn to liquid if not mixed properly and certain mixtures can do far worse.” Charlie stared in horror at what Adam told her and he paused to do the check. They left and walked back to the hotel.

                “This chemical sounds horrible, I just don’t understand why it didn’t kill us?”

                “It had to do with the mixtures. Certain mixtures cause different reactions. That’s why I’m hoping that when we find Karen she can help us.” Charlie nodded and they got back to the hotel. It was late and Adam could tell they were both tired. He changed quickly while she was in the bathroom. Charlie cleared her throat behind her and Adam turned and his jaw dropped. She was in his shirt and underwear and she just looked gorgeous.

                “Is this ok?” Adam gapped like a fish and couldn’t form any words, instead choosing to nod. She walked over to him and stood in front of him. He tentatively leaned down and kissed her. She leaned up into the kiss, and they stayed there kissing softly for a few moments.

                “Charlie? Are we officially a thing? I know it’s dumb but I just, I would really love if you would be my girlfriend.” She looked at him with happiness in her eyes and nodded. He let out a laugh and pulled her closer, kissing her with everything he had in him. They ended up on the bed, making out for what felt like forever. It had only been a few minutes before Charlie pulled away and curled up against Adams side.

                “If it’s any consolation, I would love for you to be my boyfriend.” Adam smiled and kissed her forehead. Tomorrow was going to be a new day, and Adam was glad that he would be starting it off with her.

Hester

                After dropping off Adam and Charlie at the train station, Hester had cried in the car for about 20 minutes, and she was thankful that Zach was there with her. This was the longest time her and Charlie had gone without seeing each other, and it made it harder that they couldn’t talk at all. Of course Hester knew that Adam would take care of Charlie, but Hester was worried about their mission.

                “Hey, it’s going to be ok. Come on, we’ve got to hit the road, we have a bit of a drive to go.” Hester nodded and they left the station. Hitting the road made Hester feel calmer and she looked out the window. “So I have to ask, when we get into New York, what do we want to do first?” Hester looked at Zach and thought about this. Before she could answer, her stomach answered for her. She laughed nervously and looked at her stomach.

                “I guess that answers that. I know of a restaurant; Charlie’s parents took me there when we visited New York one year. I think you’ll like it.” Zach nodded and they drove in silence. When they finally arrived in the city, Zach cleared out the stolen car of everything they needed and left the keys in the front seat. Charlie had suggested getting a new car when they got to the city since they could be tracked by it. “Follow me, it’s this way!” They walked a couple of blocks and immediately Zach gasped.

                “Is that Ellen’s Stardust Diner?!” Hester looked at Zach with wide eyes and smiled.

                “You’ve been here before?” Zach nodded and he grabbed her hand and they ran over to the restaurant. Hester blushed when she looked down at their hands and how well they fit together. Walking into the restaurant, they caught the ending of someone’s performance. The crowd cheered and the hostess sat Zach and Hester down in one of the booth’s.

                “What can I get for you folks?” Hester looked at the menu and ordered the mac and cheese and the Wicked cake, where Zach ordered a burger and a milkshake. As the waitress walked away, one of the waiters began his rendition of some song from the Wedding Singer.

                “So I never would have pinned you for a Broadway type Zach. What shows have you seen?”

                “Wicked, Phantom, Grease…” As Zach began to list the shows, Hester looked at him with joy and something warm bubbled inside of her. When their food came, Hester began to talk about the shows she saw. “When this is all over, and our lives are somewhat normal again, I want to take you to a show.” Hester looked up sharply at him.

                “As in a date?” Zach got wide eyed and stammered, trying to come up with an excuse. Before he could say anything, their food came back. Zach quickly took a bite of his burger, ignoring the question. Hester looked down at her mac and cheese and dread coursed through her A few moments passed and Hester let out a sigh. “Zach, did you mean as a date, because I need to tell you that I really wouldn’t mind if we went to see a show together as a date. In fact, that would be a dream date for me.” Zach looked at her and smiled.

                “Then yes, I mean it as a date.” Hester let out a sigh of happiness and smiled. “Ok so, I say after this we go find a hotel and crash since its starting to get late. Thoughts?” Hester nodded and swallowed a bite of mac and cheese. Their waitress came with the cake and then ran over to start her duet with another waiter. A familiar song began to play and Hester looked over with sheer joy. The song was from a show that had closed two years ago called First Date, and Hester was in love. The song was “Something That Will Last” and Hester started to hum along.  “Hester what is this song?” She stared at him with wide eyes and her jaw dropped.

                “You’ve never heard of First Date?!” Zach shook his head and Hester let out a gasp. When the song ended the lady came back over to them “Waitress, we need our check ASAP. I must educate this poor soul.” The waitress laughed and nodded. Within minutes she came back and Hester left her a nice tip. Hester grabbed Zach’s hand and led him to a nearby hotel that she had stayed at when Charlie’s family took them up here. They booked a room and when they got in the door, Hester turned the TV on and was delighted that there was YouTube on it. Pulling up the playlist, she pulled Zach onto the bed and they spent the rest of the night listening to the soundtrack. 16 songs later, Hester watched Zach’s reaction to see what he thought of it.

                “Well, it’s certainly a lot more different than I thought it would be. I liked it a lot!” Hester let out a whoop of joy and pulled Zach into a hug.

                “I just knew you would like it!” Zach laughed and hugged Hester back. They realized what time it was and Zach stifled a yawn.

                “Sorry, I barely slept last night I was so nervous.” Hester nodded and got up to go change and brush her teeth. She stared at herself in the mirror for a few moments and thought about the date comment. Hester understood that Zach was trying to work out everything that was happening and she knew she could be patient for him. Sighing, she brushed her teeth and walked out to see Zach, with no shirt on, and only his boxers. Hester’s jaw dropped as she tried to keep her eyes on his face. She quickly squeaked and turned around.

                “Sorry Sorry SORRY!” Zach laughed and came up behind Hester.  “I won’t turn around until you’re completely done changing and comfortable.”

                “Well what if I said I was comfortable like this? What would you do then?” Hester sighed and turned to face Zach.

                “Ok, but just know I am basically like a reptile and if I sense heat, I will leech it from you. Consider this your warning Zach Killard.” He laughed and pulled her over to the bed. Turning the lights off, she shuffled closer to him and sighed.

* * *

 

                Hester slowly opened her eyes to bright sunlight. Disoriented, she blinked a few times until she registered the arm around her waist and the warm breath on her neck. Slowly turning, she realized that somehow in the middle of the night, her and Zach ended up in this spooning position. Sighing, Hester leaned back against him.

                “You know that I am awake right?” Zach said into the pillow and Hester laughed.

                “Morning sleepy head. We need to start our search today.”

                “I would rather eat a bag of scorpions than get up right now. I’m too comfy.” Hester smacked him with a pillow and he groaned. “You’re going to pay for that.”

                “Yeah, how?” Suddenly with lightning speed, Zach had Hester pinned down and was on top of her. She tried to fight back but he had caught her by surprise. “Uncle!” Zach let go and Hester laughed.

                “Don’t test me when I’m a cranky teenager.” Hester laughed and Zach smiled at her. A beat passed and Hester had a moment of insanity. She leaned up and kissed Zach, softly and quickly. It ended as quickly as it started and Zach let out a happy sigh. “If I’m being honest, I’ve been waiting for you to do that for months now.” Hester grinned and Zach leaned down to kiss her again. She kissed him back, enjoying the thrill of it. A few moments passed and Hester opened her eyes and then looked over at the clock.

                “Zach, Zach wait. It’s almost noon, and we need to start our search.” Zach rolled off of her and got up. Hester quickly changed into something comfy and turned. Zach was pulling his shirt over his head and Hester stared at his muscles. It was quite enthralling to watch and Hester blushed and looked away. She prayed to whoever was listening that she could have the strength to get through these next three weeks with him.

Charlie

                _The darkness was back. I turned around and couldn’t see anything. I knew I wasn’t alone but there was no one around._

_“I know someone is here, who are you?” The air became still and I walked around, the pressure rising with each step._

_“Hello Charlie, you don’t know who I am, but I know you. I know you and your friends better than you know yourselves, and I know that one of you is going to meet their end!”_

* * *

 

                Charlie bolted awake, sweat dripping down her face. Adam stirred next to her and she looked at him.

                “You ok Charlie?” He mumbled, rubbing sleep crust out of his eyes.

                “Bad dream.” Charlie leaned back and Adam wrapped his arms around her.

                “It’s ok Charlie, I’m here, I’ve got you. You’re safe.” She sighed and shifted closer to him. He kissed her forehead and she fell asleep. The next morning, they had breakfast in the hotel and began their search for Karen. They walked for about 20 minutes before finally finding the school. It was a beautiful campus, and Charlie felt a pang of sadness thinking about home and how she won’t ever get this experience again. They entered the main building to start their search, but they didn’t have to go far. Karen was in the main building giving a speech on her results from the tests and Adam and Charlie silently sat down to listen. She was a small girl with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, and Charlie felt extremely intimidated whenever Karen talked. When the speech was over, they waited around for everyone to leave.

                “Karen Hart?”

                “Yes, who are you?” Karen was still turned around as she began to pack.

                “My name is Charlie and this is Adam. We have a few questions about your research.” Karen finished packing up the rest of her stuff and turned to them.

                “Shoot.”

                “We’d rather ask them somewhere private,” Adam said as he looked around the room. Karen looked at them and nodded.

                “Follow me.” She led them through the building into a small room that looked like a student lounge. “This is as private as you’re going to get. Now what do you need to ask me that couldn’t be asked out there?” Adam sighed and leaned forward.

                “We want to know why you are researching Ghantridine, and if you know what the cure to it is.” Karen looked at him with shock and she shook her head.

                “What do you mean cure?” Adam looked at Charlie and she nodded. Adam walked across the room to where a very large refrigerator currently was. He lifted it up with ease and set it back down. Karen stammered a bit before she asked him how he did that.

                “A year ago, Charlie, myself and two others were on a tour of a secret government facility in Virginia when we were kidnapped and tested on. They put Ghantridine into us and as a result, we gained powers. I have super human strength, our friend Hester has power over fire and Zach has the ability of speed, and Charlie here can not only read minds, but she can manipulate thought patterns. Charlie, care to prove this?” Charlie began to stand up when Karen let out a yelp.

                “No it’s unnecessary, I believe you.” Charlie smiled and sat back down. “So you want me to try and help you find a way to cure these powers? That may be a little tricky.”

                “And why is that?” Adam asked as Karen sighed.

                “Well, I can’t exactly test this chemical on humans. And besides, Ghantridine by itself is dead. It has to be combined with certain mixtures in order to cause different reactions. I could take some of your cells and try and test them to find the correct mixture but that may take weeks. How long will you be in Philly?”

                “Well, we told our friends that we would meet up with them again in three weeks from yesterday,” Charlie said.

                “That should be enough time for me to work on finding the mixture. Do you have any way I can keep in contact with you?” Adam and Charlie looked at each other. “What?”

                “Here’s the thing Karen,” Adam said, “We’re kind of on the run from the government and we can’t be caught. Just trust us.”

                “Oh well that’s simple get a burner phone!” Charlie blinked a few times in confusion at this. “What, you’ve never seen shows like ‘Supernatural’? You get a burner phone that can’t be traced and has no carrier! They sell them at places like Walmart.” Adam let out a groan and smacked his forehead.

                “Of course! I know what you mean. Come on Charlie, we should go pick those up.” Charlie nodded and they said their goodbyes to Karen. When they left the university, Adam and Charlie made their way to the nearest Walmart. Grabbing four burner phones, they picked up some more supplies. When Adam wasn’t looking, Charlie knocked in a box of condoms just to be safe. Arriving back at the hotel, Charlie flopped down onto the bed. “You ok Charlie?”

                “I’m fine, just a little tired.” Adam sank into the bed next to Charlie.

                “Get some sleep ok?” He kissed her forehead and she got comfortable in the bed, quickly letting sleep take her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was on break and I didn't have time to write but hey enjoy this chapter even though it sucks, sorry about that. But hey relationship progress is always fun, right? Anyway, next chapter may be delayed because of school existing.

Hester

                It’s been about two weeks since they arrived in New York, and there’s been no progress on finding Emily’s parents. They had checked through news articles from when Emily was taken to white pages trying to find any Owens or Lily’s’ in the area. Zach had even gone out and bought a cheap computer just to make it easier. Hester was getting frustrated with their search and she could tell Zach was being patient for her. They had checked out of the hotel they were staying at and had checked into a new one. One afternoon, they were lounging in the shared bed doing their search when Zach leapt up.

                “I found them!” Hester shot up and looked over at the screen, and sure enough it read in big letters: NEW YORK PARENTS REPORT DAUGHTER STOLEN BY GOVERNMENT. Hester let out a cry of happiness and read through the article. It talked about Lily and Owen Radnor and how their daughter Emily was playing one day and she was taken right from in front of them by men in suits. They had gone to the police but the police labeled them as insane and had locked them up. They were released the next day and ever since then they had kept quiet about it. “We have to go talk to them Hester, they’re in an apartment near where we are. Let’s go!” Hester gathered some stuff together and they quickly left the hotel. When they found the apartment, Zach walked up to the door and rang their bell.

                “Hello?” A ragged voice said. It sounded like a male’s voice and Zach cleared his throat.

                “Mr. Radnor? My name is Zach and I have information on Emily.” There was a pause and then a click as the door unlocked.

                “Room 35B.” Zach opened the door and they walked in. 35B was up the stairs and Zach went to knock on the door, but it suddenly opened. “Please come in, make yourselves at home.”

                “Owen, is that them?” A small voice said and from behind the curtain separating the kitchen and the main room a woman came out. She had brown hair with grey roots and green eyes. Her husband had sandy blonde hair and brown eyes, and Zach could see where Emily had gotten her hazel colored eyes.

                “Hello Mrs. Radnor, I’m Zach and this is my friend Hester.”

                “Yes hello, please call me Lily and this is my husband Owen.” Hester looked at Zach and Zach sighed.

                “We need to talk to you about your daughter. She…she wanted us to pass on a message to you. She wanted us to tell you she fought with honor, but unfortunately, she died saving Hester, myself and two other people who were taken by the government. She died in honor and I am so sorry to be the one to pass this message onto you.” Lily and Owen were silent as they told her all Emily did to save them. Lily began to cry and Hester walked over and comforted her.

                “I just wish we could have seen how she had grown up to be.” Owen said sadly and Zach nodded.

                “She was brave sir; I can tell you that,” Zach said as Lily cried some more. “Hester and I should leave, we need to get going on the road.” Lily sniffled and stood up.

                “Thank you for coming by, we are grateful that you told us.” Zach and Hester gave their sympathies and left the apartment.

                “I feel terrible that we dropped that bomb on them. I can’t imagine the pain they must be in right now.” Hester sighed and Zach pulled her into a hug.

                “We did the right thing in telling them, they needed to know.” Hester nodded and they started to walk when a figure stepped out of the shadows.

                “Hello Hester and Zach, long time no see.” It was Giles. Zach pulled Hester behind him and got ready to fight. “Now now Zach, no need to be all macho on me. I’m just here to talk.”

                “The hell you are Giles. How did you find us?” Giles laughed and Hester felt anger bubble inside of her.

                “We’ve been watching this house for months now, waiting for you to make an appearance. It’s a shame that the girl had to die, but she was a liability to our cause.” Hester felt heat growing in her hands and she nudged Zach as a warning. He looked at her and nodded.

                “If this is your way of talking Giles, then I don’t want to talk.” Giles let out a sigh and snapped his fingers. Two very large soldiers came from behind the wall and advanced on them. Hester let out the heat and the one soldier ran from the fire that came from her hand. She could hear Zach fighting the other one but before she could help, she was knocked to her feet. Her head smacked on the pavement and she could see stars. Groaning, Hester slowly stood up and faced the dude who knocked her down.

                “Didn’t your mom ever tell you it isn’t nice to hit a girl?” Hester felt the flames spread up her arms and she let out a scream and the flames shot forward. The dude in front of her screamed as he lit up from the fire spreading onto his clothes. That was the last thing Hester saw before she passed out.

* * *

                “Hester please wake up. Don’t do this, don’t leave me alone.” Hester could feel everything hurting and she groaned. Opening her eyes, she saw Zach looking down at her with tears in his eyes. When he saw that she was ok, he let out a cry and kissed her with so much happiness and relief behind it. Hester kissed him back and he held her tightly. “Don’t ever scare me like that damnit Hester! I thought you were dead.”

                “What happened? I just remember getting hit on the head and then nothing.” She looked around at the cars on fire and there was a body nearby. She let out a strangled gasp and tried to scooch away from it. Zach pulled her in tighter and she began to cry. “Did I do that?!”    

                “It had to be done Hester, they were going to kill you.” She cried harder and Zach tried her best to sooth her. Helping her up, Zach led Hester to a nearby car and broke into it. They made their way back to the hotel, quickly packing everything up and then they left. “Hester, do you want to go eat something?” She shook her head, feeling empty inside.

                “Honestly Zach, I just want to check into the next hotel and sleep.” Zach nodded and drove them to the rendezvous spot. There was a hotel a block away and they checked in. Zach guided Hester to the bed and she began to cry again.

                “Shhh Hester it’s ok, I’ve got you.” He opened his arms and she sat there crying into his shoulder. “Let’s try and sleep ok?” She nodded and they sat back against the headboard. Hester moved closer to Zach, seeking comfort in his warmth and his kindness.

Adam

                They had been working with Karen for three weeks now and she had managed to find the right mixture that caused their powers. It was an awesome day when that happened and Adam and Charlie had taken Karen out for lunch to celebrate. Today Karen said she was going to try and find the cure to these powers. She knew it would take her longer than a week so she had given Adam her number. Currently, he and Charlie were in the hotel room and they were watching a movie. Adam didn’t care really about what movie it was, he was just happy being with Charlie.

                “Hey Adam, what will happen when Karen finds the cure?” Adam looked down at Charlie and shrugged.

                “Hopefully our lives go back to normal. Maybe we’ll be able to go back to school.” Charlie groaned at that.

                “I don’t even want to think about school again.” Adam laughed at this. He looked at Charlie and smiled, his heart swelling with joy. He still couldn’t believe that they were together in this way, and thinking about it made his heart beat skip around. Adam could feel Charlie smiling against his chest and he kissed her forehead.

                “You’re the one with the ability to read minds Charlie, not me. What’s on your mind?” She looked up at him and smiled.

                “Honestly, I’m just happy to be here with you.” Adam smiled at her and his eyes flickered to her lips. Before he could lean in and kiss her, the burner phone rang. They jumped apart and Adam quickly grabbed the phone. It was Karen.

                “Hello?” There was a pause.

                “Hello Adam?” She sounded nervous and Adam immediately tensed up.

                “Karen, what’s wrong.” She let out a nervous laugh.

                “Well, I was working on the cure when these men came into the building and started yelling. I grabbed my notebook and hid before they got to my lab room and then…oh Adam they took the chemicals and trashed the whole lab. I’m currently hiding out in a dingy diner across from the house of Pass and Stow.” She paused as Adam quickly looked up what she meant. The result was Independence Hall.

                “Ok Karen, we will come find you. Be safe these men are dangerous.”

                “I’m well aware of that.” She hung up and Adam sighed.

                “Adam what’s going on?” Adam began to pack up all of their stuff and Charlie helped. He quickly explained what happened and she let out a gasp. “Do you think it was Bane?”         

                “Who else would it be?”

Karen

                “Hello ma’am, what can I get for you?” Karen looked at the waitress and smiled.

                “Just water please.” The waitress left and Karen sighed. Looking out the window, she watched the people walking by, waiting for Adam and Charlie. Her journal was in her backpack on the floor next to her. The door opened and she looked up as three men in suits walked in. The one was a little older than the rest and he looked at Karen and smiled. She felt a weird vibe from him and continued to look out the window.

                “Hello boys what can I get you?”

                “Actually, we’re just waiting for someone.” The older man sat back in the chair next to Karen’s booth and she felt uneasy. The older man looked over at her, more specifically the bag at her feet. Karen pulled out her phone and silently sent a message to Adam that said one word: TRAP! She closed her phone and calmly drank the water that was placed in front of her.

                “That’s an interesting bag you have there. You a scientist?” The old man said. Karen flinched and smiled nervously.

                “I’m actually a bio student at Temple,” Karen quickly lied. She had a feeling that she couldn’t tell this man who she really was. He nodded and went to drink his coffee. Karen jumped when her phone buzzed. It was Adam sending confirmation that he saw her trap message.

                “Friend of yours?”

                “Sister. I’m letting her know that I’m here.” Karen felt extremely on edge and she quickly pulled out a pen and scribbled something on her napkin. When the waitress came back, Karen showed her the message that said: _Being watched by neighbor, I need a distraction to make an escape._ The waitress nodded and went into the back, and then emerged with some more coffee. She went to pour it for the older man when she suddenly spilled it on him. In the commotion, Karen leapt up and grabbed her bag. She ran out the door and ran into Charlie. “Charlie quick we have to get out of here!” Adam turned and the three men emerged from the restaurant yelling and pointing. They ran down the street and ducked into an ally. The men ran past and when they were gone Karen sighed. “That was a close one.” Charlie let out an evil snicker and Karen gasped as Charlie and Adam began to transform. In a blink of an eye, Charlie and Adam had transformed into faceless figures with hoods on.

                “Now that we have her, let’s take her to the boss!” Karen turned to run away, only to be cornered by the old man and the two other men.

                “Good work you two. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Maurice Bane. And you have something I want.” Karen backed up, only to remember that the hooded people were there. _Calm down Karen_ , she thought, _there is no clear escape, and if that happens what do you do? You stall until the right moment of escape. Now observe your surroundings for an alternative exit_. She looked around the ally and saw a door behind the hooded figures. Now it was time to stall.

                “Who are you people and what do you want?”

                “Now, what a silly thing to ask. If you were truly that innocent and oblivious, you wouldn’t have run away at the restaurant. You know where the four of them are, and you’re going to tell me where I can find them!”

                “I have no idea what you mean, and I ran because you were creeping me out. Can you blame a girl for getting scared when a stranger starts questioning her?” The one man behind Bane whispered something into his ear and he let out a wicked grin.

                “My colleague is informing me that you are in fact stalling and that you are not a bio student from Temple. We know you are Karen Hart, and we are here to collect your journal on Ghantridine.” Karen let out a fake laugh.

                “What the hell are you on dude? What is Ghantridine.”

                “Enough of this, grab her!” She switched into self-defense mode as the two figures ran toward her. She struck the one down but the other grabbed her. She kicked upward and caught him in the crotch, causing him to cry out and collapse. She bolted past the cloaked figures as fast as she could and made a break for the door. It was open and she ran inside. There seemed to be a party going on and Karen quickly made her way through the crowd to the front door. There was a commotion behind her and she looked back to see Bane and the figures coming in. She kept running until she found the front door and then hid in a bathroom stall. _Please Adam and Charlie, please find me._

Charlie

                “Adam where is she? She told us she was here!” They were at the restaurant and Karen wasn’t there. The waitress they had talked to told them that the man was older and the girl had black hair. Charlie swore because the description matched Bane, which meant there was a chance that they had her. Adam thanked the girl and asked which way she had run.

                “That’s the weird thing, she ran off with two other people who looked exactly like you! They ran toward the Rusty Hole; the local bar a few blocks down.” Adam looked shocked and Charlie pulled him out. She was concerned about what the girl had just said and needed answers.

                “Adam what did she mean by people who looked like us? How is that possible?” Adam shook his head and Charlie sighed, closing her eyes. Suddenly her thoughts were flooded by Karen’s thoughts of fear. “Adam, I can hear her! She’s this way.” They ran toward the bar and Adam stormed in. Immediately there was a yell and Charlie saw Bane.

                “Charlie, go find Karen, I’ll hold them off. If you find her, meet at the car. GO!” Charlie pulled Adam into a quick kiss and ran towards the source of the panic. She burst into the female bathroom and heard whimpering.

                “Karen? It’s Charlie, where are you.” The whimpering stopped and Charlie focused on Karen’s thoughts. She hated to do it, but she manipulated Karen to come out of wherever she was.

                “Please don’t hurt me!” Karen cried as she came out of the farthest stall. Charlie walked toward her with a calm hand and Karen pulled away.

                “Oh Karen, what did they do to you?” She cried and Charlie pulled her closer and comforted her.

                “They looked exactly like you, and then they didn’t, and there were men and I- “Charlie helped her up and led her outside to the main room. Scanning the room, she couldn’t find Adam anywhere.

                “Come with me, we’re going back to the car.” Karen nodded and they left. It was a short walk and Adam wasn’t back yet. “Stay in there until he comes back. I’m going to wait with you.” Karen nodded and clutched her bag as she got into the back. A few minutes passed and Adam finally came back. “Wait, don’t come any closer. How do I know you’re really Adam?” He stared at her in confusion.

                “Charlie what are you talking about? It’s me!”

                “Tell me something only Adam would know: Where did we first meet?” He paused and looked at her.

                “Camp of course! You were trying to prove that you could climb the highest and then you fell and scraped your knees on the mulch.” Charlie laughed and nodded. “Now how do I know you’re Charlie?”

                “You have a scar on your back from when you fell off of your bike in 8th grade in front of everyone trying to impress Mildred Hark.” Adam nodded and Charlie pulled him into a huge hug. “What happened in there? I was so worried.”

                “They were strong, those hooded figures. I had to make sure I didn’t hurt anyone in the fight. Is Karen ok?” Charlie looked behind her at the car where Karen was currently sitting crying. Charlie nodded. “Good, we need to take her with us, she can’t go back to the university now that they have seen her face.” They got in the car and Adam explained what was going to happen. “We need to take you to the bank so you can get everything out. It will be better to take it all so that they can’t trace your purchases. And also we need to make our way to New York.” Karen nodded at all of this.

                “Can I stop back at the university to get some things?” Adam looked down and Charlie shook her head.

                “It isn’t safe back there, and they know about you. They would expect that you would go back and they’ll try to take you again.” Karen sighed and nodded. Adam put the car into drive and they were off. The meetup day was tomorrow and Charlie was anxious to see how Hester and Zach were doing.

* * *

 

                After the trip to the bank was done and they had left with Karen’s $800 saved up, they continued the drive. It was going to take them at least 2 ½ hours to get to NY, and Karen was passed out asleep with her bag securely wrapped in her arms.

                “Adam, you know she is in danger if she stays with us.”

                “I get that Charlie but where else can she go? We have nowhere safe to let her stay, and now that Bane knows who she is, there’s no guarantee that he will take her the minute she is out of our sight.” Charlie sighed and looked out the window. She felt a hand rest on her leg and she looked over at Adam. His features were soft and she smiled at him and nodded in agreement. It was 8 pm when they arrived at the rendezvous point. It was a small hotel that they had scoped out weeks ago and it was the perfect place to meet at. Checking in, Adam bought two rooms that were conjoined. They had all agreed that this was the best thing to do, and Charlie sighed as she flopped down on the bed.

                “At least tomorrow we get to see Hester and Zach again. I wonder how their mission went.” Adam sat down on the bed next to Charlie. Charlie scooched up toward the end of the bed and wrapped her arms around him.

                “Look Charlie, we need to figure out what to do about Karen, having one more person in this group is going to be harder to hide, especially one with such a huger target on her back.” Charlie nodded and they both laid back. It was definitely going to be hard for them to hide Karen but Charlie didn’t think it would be right to just leave her behind.

Zach

                Today was the last day before Hester and Zach were to meet back up with Adam and Charlie, and Zach could tell Hester was getting antsy. After about an hour of her pacing he finally sighed.

                “Let’s go out Hester.” She stopped suddenly and stared at him. “Let’s go find a good restaurant and eat some good food and then go explore New York. This will probably be the only chance we get.” Hester stared at him in surprise and slowly nodded. They packed up their bags as they planned to check into the rendezvous tonight, and they checked out. Zach waited till Hester was outside before he turned to the guy behind the desk. “Hey dude, got any recommendations for a romantic restaurant? She likes Italian.” The guy thought about this and nodded, quickly giving him instructions to a restaurant not far from the rendezvous point. Zach thanked him and slipped him an extra five dollars and then ran outside.

                “What took you so long?”

                “Had to ask him directions to the rendezvous point.” Hester gave him a weird look and shrugged. They walked to the hotel where Adam and Charlie would be arriving and checked in. After dropping their stuff off, they went back outside.

                “So where are we going?”

                “Follow me!” Zach led the way to their destination. It took them about 20 minutes to get to and when they finally got there Zach could tell Hester was extremely happy. “After you.” She went in and he followed. They were seated almost immediately and their drinks came soon after.

                “Zach, this place is beautiful oh my god! How did you find it?”

                “I asked the guy at the hotel for his recommendations and this was one.” Hester smiled and Zach reached across the table and took her hand. He felt his heart flare with joy at how beautiful Hester looked and he couldn’t help but smile. The waiter came back and took their order, and then he left.

                “So Zach, is there a reason you took me to such a romantic looking restaurant?” Zach grinned and took a sip of his water. “I’m guessing it’s a surprise then?” Zach nodded. Hester sighed and squeezed Zach’s hand. Zach changed the topic to something else and he was relieved that the reason for this dinner was dropped.  “I can’t wait to regroup with Adam and Charlie, I hope their mission was successful!” Zach nodded and they ate their food in peace. After the meal was payed for, they left the restaurant and Hester stopped and faced Zach. “Alright, where to now?” Zach smirked and took Hester’s hand in his, interlocking their fingers.

                “I want to show you a store that my parents took me too when I was younger.” The walk to the store was short and Zach reveled in how well Hester’s hand fit into his. They arrived at the store and Hester looked at him with a curious look. “Hester,” Zach said gesturing to the store in front of him, “welcome to Abracadabra!” It was a tall building with a few mannequins in the window, and it was like Halloween threw up in the store. Hester stared in awe at the building and Zach took her inside. It was slightly crowded with all of the stuff but it was amazing. Zach watched with amusement as Hester ran around the store looking at everything. Zach retreated to the corner by the kids costumes and sat down on the chair. Somewhere nearby, there was a meow and Zach turned in time to see the store cat. “Come here baby!” The cat walked over to him and he played with the cat for a little bit.

                “Oh my god is that a cat?!?!?!” Hester’s voice came from upstairs and Zach looked up in time to see Hester bolting down the stairs. “Hello precious baby!”

                “Hello, is there anything I can help you with?” A young woman with blue hair smiled at them, and Hester shook her head.

                “This is my first time in here, and I am completely in love!” The blue haired girl smiled and she walked away. Zach began to gently pull Hester toward the door. Zach took Hester to a few more places before finally settling for the last place: Central Park. He took her to the park and they explored the area together, and at the end of the trip, Hester was much more relaxed. “Zach, I think I know why you did this today.” Zach raised his eyebrows at her and she leaned in to kiss him. Sparks went off and he felt every movie cliché feeling when she kissed him. “You knew I was worried about Adam and Charlie and you did this to help me feel better.”

                “You got me, I saw how wound up you were and I wanted to help. Did I do a good job?” Hester looked at him and nodded. He pulled her into another kiss and then another until they were flat out making out in the park. Before it got too out of hand, Hester stopped them.

                “Maybe not in the middle of the park?” Zach nodded and they caught a cab back to their hotel. When Hester was in the room, Zach was on her in seconds. Pushing her to the wall, his hands went everywhere until they settled on the small of her back. He kissed her like a dying man and he could feel her leg wrap around his. She pushed his shoulder back until they were walking to the bed. His legs hit the end of the bed and he sank down, Hester climbing into his lap. They stayed like that for a while and Zach was beginning to forget how to think and breath. He flipped Hester onto her back and settled on top of her. They made out more until suddenly Zach let out a yawn. Hester stopped and burst out laughing. “Am I boring you Zach?”

                “Oh hush, I’m tired ok?” Hester snickered and she leaned up and pecked his cheek.

                “It’s getting late anyway; we should probably turn in for the night anyway.” Zach nodded and flopped off of her.  He pulled off his pants and his shirt and Hester got up to change. When she came back in shorts and her bra, Zach groaned.

                “Don’t be a tease damnit.”

                “Says you!” Zach laughed as Hester pouted. She crawled into bed and Zach wrapped his arms around her. Closing his eyes, Zach let sleep take him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically this chapter is Bane being a dick and making life hard for the gang, and there's mentions of PAST death in regards to parents so if that's triggering DON'T READ KAREN'S SECTION AT THE END!

Bane

                “How is the progress on our search?” The soldier in the door handed over a paper and Bane smiled. “I see we have located her. Send your men and the hooded people out to retrieve her. We must make her join our cause.” The soldier nodded and left. Bane sighed and then suddenly there was a small knock on the door and he looked up to see his niece walk in.

                “Uncle Maurice? Who is this girl we are trying to find?” Bane laughed and ushered her to sit down. She did and he leaned forward.

                “There is a girl, with silver flowing hair just like yours. She was taken from your mother at a very young age, and we thought she was dead until we learned of her accident. She is now in hiding from us, but not for long.” The little girl took this in and smiled.

                “Is she my sister?” Bane nodded. “What’s her name?”

                “Her name is Lauren, and I think you will love her very much.” The little girl squealed and then there was a knock. “Enter.” The same soldier from before came in and the little girl left. “Is the cover story ready?”

                “Yes sir, the explosives are armed and ready, and our connections in the media have the story ready to report.” Bane nodded and looked out the window.

                “Give the order.” The soldier nodded and left the room. Bane turned the TV on and watched the news station. It didn’t take long for the story to flash across the screen: “EXPLOSION IN TIMES SQUARE, SUSPECTS STILL UNKNOWN.” _Perfect_.

Adam

                “Adam, where are they?” Adam scanned the crowd for Hester’s telltale red hair once again but found nothing. Charlie was holding his hand and leaning against his arm and Karen was seated behind them, the bags under her eyes showing that she did not sleep well. Karen had informed them that she had been up all night trying to look for a cure with what results she had to no avail. Adam felt guilty about her getting a lack of sleep and had offered to let her stay upstairs, to which she politely said no.  They were in the hotel lobby waiting for Hester and Zach, and they had been there for about an hour. Adam was beginning to worry when suddenly Charlie pulled away and ran toward the elevator. There was Hester, and they crashed into a huge hug that had Charlie stumbling. Adam smiled and he and Karen walked over. Zach and him exchanged a hug and Hester gave him a kiss on the cheek and another hug.

                “I missed you so much,” Hester exclaimed and Charlie smiled. “Who’s this though?” Hester gestured to Karen. Charlie stepped aside as Adam introduced her.

                “Zach, Hester, meet Karen Hart. She was working on finding the cure when Bane’s men attacked her lab and almost kidnapped her. She’s coming with us.” Hester smiled and shook Karen’s hand. Zach did the same and they all checked out of the hotel.

                “Ok gang, what is our next stop,” asked Charlie. After a few minutes of walking around, they decided to find lunch in Times Square, settling on Olive Garden. When they were seated, Adam turned to Zach.

                “So how did it go with finding Emily’s parents?” Zach looked at Hester and her lips quivered downward slightly. Adam picked up on it and looked at Hester with concern. Hester sighed and leaned forward.

                “Well, we got there and they were saddened but thankful that we told them. But after we left, we were ambushed by Giles and some men, and we had to fight and I- “She began to tear up and Zach reached over and grabbed her hand. Charlie put her hand on Hester’s shoulder as Hester silently cried. Adam looked down as he realized what she was going to say.

                “Hester don’t blame yourself, you had to do what needed to be done. He was going to kill you, you defended yourself,” Zach said as he pulled her into a hug. She nodded and sniffled a little. The waitress came to take their order and they quickly rushed out what they wanted. She nodded and left, and Adam turned to Karen.

                “Karen, why don’t you share with them what we know about Ghantridine?” Karen nodded and pulled out her notebook. There were only about 20 pages filled with her tests and results, but it was more than any of them had known.

                “So from what I’ve found, Ghantridine is actually a neutral substance. Now what’s weird about this substance is that it has different reactions when exposed to different factors. The tricky part about what I did was trying to narrow down the factor that caused your powers to occur. I finally found it, but before I could even try to find the way to reverse it, that monster Bane tried to kidnap me and steal my book. Thankfully I got away, but now they know who I am.” They all looked at the notebook on the table. Karen was meticulous in her notes and Adam saw that there was a list of the many combinations she had tried in her search to find the right combination. “I’m hoping we can get back to the lab and continue my research, but that may be easier said than done.” Adam nodded. Their waitress came with their check and they paid and left. As they were walking out of the restaurant there was a loud bang and the whole square shook.   

                “What the hell was that?” Hester yelled. They all looked at each other in confusion.

                “Look up there! I think there was an explosion” a random pedestrian said, pointing up to the smoke in the air. There was a huge cloud of grey smoke coming from behind the buildings and everyone began screaming and running for cover.

                “What is that? What exploded?” Hester asked as Adam stared in horror. The person next to him was watching the news and he looked over at the report. According to the story, there was an explosion at the Empire State Building, and the image on the screen was gruesome. It was reported that so far 5 were dead and almost 20 people were severely injured. Hester watched in horror as the reporter at the scene talked about what happened. Adam looked up and noticed that Zach was missing.

                “Hester, where is Zach?” She looked up and her face went pale. Everyone in the square was in a panic and Adam dragged Hester, Charlie and Karen away from the crowd. Suddenly, Zach was back in a flash. “Zach where were you?”

                “I went to the scene and guys it’s really bad. The whole building is on fire and there’s military forces already there. It’s awful, I think this wasn’t an accident.” Adam nodded and they all ducked into a building with a TV in it. The reporter on the TV was talking about how they ruled out an accident saying that this was intentional., claiming that bombs had been dismantled that would have caused more injuries. The cashier turned up the volume, and Charlie began to cry. It was horrible what they were seeing on the screen. The woman paused and nodded, stating that the police were currently pulling together a suspect list from witnesses. The witnesses had seen four suspicious teens walk into the building earlier, only minutes before the bomb went off. Four pictures flashed on the screen and Hester gasped. Their pictures flashed on the screen. 

Hester

                “Adam, why are our pictures on that screen? How do they even have those?” Charlie asked as the reporter continued to talk about the explosion. The girl on the screen said that if anyone sees the people to call the police and Hester watched as the store clerk turned and noticed the five of them. He slowly reached for his phone and Hester panicked.

                “We have to go now!” They ran out of the store and kept running until they found a dark alley. Hester let out a cough as she caught her breath from the run and Karen sank to the ground.

                “What was that you guys? Why are they saying you four blew up the building?” They all looked at Karen and Charlie sighed.

                “I think Bane is setting us up. He knows that we are still trying to find a cure and this is his way of throwing a wrench into our plan, it has to be him.” Zach nodded and Karen shook her head in bewilderment.

                “But that still doesn’t explain how the reporter got your pictures so quickly. Usually these cases take a lot more time than that, it’s almost as if- “.

                “As if they already had our pictures ready for this exact moment,” Zach finished. “I think Bane set us up, and now we’re officially fugitives of the state. We have to get out of here before someone spots us and turns us in.” They all nodded and gathered up their belongings. “Charlie, do you think you’ll be able to manipulate the minds of everyone around us in order to make them not see us.” Charlie closed her eyes and Hester felt something change in the air. Charlie opened her eyes and nodded, and they walked out of the alley. Everyone around them was in a panic, from watching the news report to calling family, yet none of them noticed Hester, Zach, Adam, Charlie, or even Karen for that matter. It had worked and they all hustled to a nearby car. Adam broke in and they threw their stuff into the back.

                “We need a plan before we take off from here, where can we go,” Zach asked and Hester looked at Adam. Out of nowhere, Karen let out a gasp.

                “I know somewhere safe we can go, but we have about four hours’ worth of driving to get there. My family owns a lake house, and we used to go there all the time in the summer but now that it’s closer to winter, we will be safe.”

                “Good enough for me!” Adam turned the car on and they drove off.

* * *

 

                It had been about two hours and everyone but Hester and Adam were asleep. Adam had refused to let anyone else drive and Hester let him be stubborn. Charlie had passed out in the front seat around 12:30 and soon after Zach and then Karen. Hester knew it would be good to sleep, but her mind was going a mile a minute. Zach was next to her and she had his hand in hers, his head on her shoulder in a deep sleep. The memory from last night’s date brought a small smile to Hester’s lips, and it was moments like this where she wished she had Charlie’s power and not the power over fire.

                “What’s on your mind Hester?” She looked up and met Adam’s eyes in the mirror and shook her head.

                “I’m just thinking. It’s such perfect timing, y’know? We finally have the upper hand and now we’re on the run from the government itself. I just wish this was easy, because all I want right now is to get rid of these damn powers. Damnit Adam, I killed someone! I don’t care what Zach said, I still killed a man, and I hate it.” Adam looked at her with sympathetic eyes and she shook her head and looked out the window.

                “Hester, I’m not going to try and make it better. Yes, you did kill someone, I’m not going to defend that. But you need to understand that it was necessary. If you hadn’t killed him, you wouldn’t be here telling me this. Do you understand?” Hester nodded and looked at Adam. The rest of the ride flew by and finally they pulled into the driveway of the house. It was in Fair Haven and there were no other houses nearby. According to Karen, the house had three floors, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and its own dock. They had all decided that the dock would probably be unused as it was getting colder plus they couldn’t risk being seen.  Karen claimed the attic room because it had a makeshift workstation so that she could continue research and no one argued. Adam and Charlie claimed the master suite and Hester and Zach grabbed the guest room. It was a spacious room with a queen sized bed and a nice view of the lake. Zach plopped down on the bed and Hester shook her head at him.

                “I’m going to explore the house a bit, see what’s around.” Zach mumbled and Hester rolled her eyes as she left the room. The house was extremely clean and spacious, the walls a light grey and the floors wooden. Hester went downstairs and chuckled when she saw a pool table and a bar. “Let’s not tell Adam and Zach about that they’ll go nuts,” Hester mumbled to herself. Through the glass doors there was a hot tub and a shower which Hester made a mental note of. Other than those things, the downstairs was kind of drab, so she went back upstairs. The kitchen itself was very nice and there was a huge TV in the front room. Hester didn’t bother going up into the attic room because the only thing up there was Karen’s room, which lead Hester back to her and Zach’s room. She was not at all shocked when she walked in and he was asleep. Sighing, she changed out of her clothes into shorts and her sports bra and climbed into the bed. He mumbled and unconsciously wrapped her into his arms. She smiled and curled up next to him, falling asleep instantly.

Charlie

                “Hey Charlie, can you hand me those jeans?” Charlie looked up from her laptop and saw where Adam was pointing to. She got up and handed them over to him. As he folded them into the dresser, Charlie sat back onto the king sized mattress.

                “Adam, we have all the time in the world to put clothes away. Come lay down with me!” He looked at her and shook his head with a chuckle. She pouted at the back of his head when he continued to put clothes away. Reaching for a pillow, she took aim and chucked it at the back of his head. It hit him so hard he stumbled and turned around.

                “Oh this means war.” Charlie had enough time to gasp as Adam leaped onto the bed and pinned her down. She wrestled with him to get free but he had a good grip on her wrists. “Do you give up?” She felt his grip loosen and took the opportunity to flip him over so he was pinned under her.

                “Never.” They struggled some more until finally Adam tapped out. Charlie let go and before she could react, Adam pulled her down into a deep kiss. It caught her off guard and she kissed him back harder. His hands traveled to her hips and he let his grip tighten just a little. Before she could react however, he flipped her back over and pinned her again.

                “Rule number 1 of war, never let your opponent distract you.” She huffed and he let her go. He flopped onto the bed next to her and she shuffled closer to him.

                “Adam, what are we going to do about the New York incident? We can’t run forever, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to manipulate everyone’s minds all the time. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Hester and all of them but it really drained me and I felt so tired after.” Adam kissed her forehead and she sighed.

                “Don’t worry about it right now Charlie, we are safe right now, and we can figure this all out tomorrow. For now, we should try and rest ok?” She nodded and turned on her side, Adams arms wrapping around her waist. After a few moments, his breathing became even and she sighed. He was right, but it still scared her. She didn’t tell him about the creepy voice in her dreams, or how it had said someone was going to die. Closing her eyes, she focused on her breathing until she herself was asleep.

* * *

 

                _“Who are you?” A figure stood in front of me, completely shrouded in darkness. It stayed silent and I let out a frustrated noise. “What do you mean someone is going to meet their end? Who is going to die and can I stop it?”_

_“No, I cannot tell you what is going to happen. You must discover it for yourself. You and I, we are connected in more ways than one. Something is coming, and it is up to you to figure this out. There is so much you don’t know Charlie.”_

_“THEN HELP ME DAMNIT! STOP GIVING ME VAGUE WARNINGS AND ACTUALLY HELP!” The figure went silent and I could feel tears falling down my face. “Please, I have to save my friends. Please help me somehow.” The figure nodded and suddenly my mind lit up on fire._

* * *

 

                “CHARLIE!” She bolted awake and Adam let out a huge sigh of relief. “Are you ok?” Charlie brushed Adam aside and went for the desk while the information was still fresh in her head. “Charlie you’re scaring me what is it?” Once Charlie finished writing everything down, she began to feel dizzy and sunk onto the bed. Adam pulled her closer before she could fall and she winced as her head began to pound.

                “Adam I need to talk to you about something and I need you to be silent until I tell you everything.” He nodded and she braced herself. As the dreams began to pour out, she watched as his face became more and more concerned. “… And just now, the figure told me that there’s a fifth person out there just like us. Adam, we have to find them, they are in danger and don’t even know about it!” Adam remained silent and Charlie retrieved the notepad she had scribbled the information on. It was coordinates and Charlie showed him. “The figure said we need to go rescue this person because Bane is after them. If Bane gets to them before us, who knows what he could use their powers for, whatever they may be.”

                “This is all speculation! How do we even know if we can trust this figure? If they’re going around spouting rumors of death, then how do we know if they’re friendly or not?” Charlie didn’t know how to answer this and she looked at the notepad.

                “Do you trust me Adam?”

                “You know I do.”

                “Then trust me on this one, because it felt so real.” Adam nodded, but one look into his mind and Charlie knew just how worried he was.

Karen

                Karen let out a huge sigh when she saw that her small sample of Ghantridine was still locked away safely in her cabinet. Pulling out a small sample, she mixed it with the sample she had used to create the reaction of the powers.

                “Ok Karen. Let’s do this.” She set to work trying to reverse the process of the mixture. It was a long and tedious process, and so far each time was a complete failure. Almost an hour later, there was no progress and Karen threw her hands up in frustration. “I need to get some air.” She threw on her coat and went outside. Walking down to the dock, she sat down and breathed in the fresh air. Being back here made her extremely sad as the last time she was here her parents were still here. It had been almost 6 years since they had died in the car accident and Karen felt a tear drop fall. She knew they would be so proud of who she had become but it still hurt her.

                “Karen, are you alright?” She sniffled and turned to see Zach standing behind her.

                “I’m alright. It’s just this place gives me sad memories. The last time I was here my parents were both alive, and it just hurts to be here without them.” Zach sat down next to her and put his hand on hers.

                “They died didn’t they?” She nodded and he looked out across the lake. “My mom died when I was 10, and my dad died the day after graduation. He and I were so close, and I went through a hard time before I got to college. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

                “I was at a slumber party in 10th grade and the girl decided to bust out alcohol and I panicked and called my mom. She freaked out at what happened and immediately woke up my dad. They weren’t mad at me but mad at the girl, and my mom was driving fast to come get me when an 18 wheeler slammed into the car, killing them both instantly. I went to open the door thinking it was them, but it was the police. They escorted me to my older sister’s house and the funeral was two days later. I still blame myself for it, and I know I didn’t do it but I just wish I could tell them that I’m sorry they died because of me.” She began to cry and Zach pulled her into a hug.

                “Hey it’s not your fault ok? It was a freak accident and there’s no way you had control of it.” She nodded and wiped her tears away. “Come inside, Charlie and Hester made pasta, and you don’t want to miss Hester’s pasta!” Karen smiled and took his hand. Walking into the kitchen, Karen couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Hester swatting Adam’s hand away when he tried to steal garlic bread. She knew that her real family may never get to see her again, but this was a good family she had with her.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever to write I was struggling with what I wanted to do. Also the end is a tad NSFW so be wary of that. Also I know that Charlie leaving was random but it's important.

Zach

                Zach opened his eyes and looked over at the clock. It was almost 8:00am, and he groaned.

                “What’s wrong?” Zach looked down to see Hester next to him and he smiled.

                “Just don’t want to get out of bed, too warm.” Hester laughed and Zach kissed her cheek. He shuffled down on the bed and pulled her closer.

                “You know we are going to have to get up eventually right?” Zach groaned again and Hester laughed. She leaned in closer to his ear and whispered, “If you get up now, you can join me in the shower.” Zach sat up so fast that he almost got whiplash. Hester leapt up and ran into the bathroom. Zach scrambled out of the bed as he shed his clothes off and joined her in the shower. The warm water poured over them and the smile on Zach’s face didn’t leave the whole time.

* * *

 

                “So how was everyone’s morning?” Zach looked up sharply at Karen with wide eyes and froze. Charlie snickered and he shot her a glare. Clearing his throat, he took a sip of water.

                “Uneventful.” Zach mumbled and Hester blushed. Karen looked at both of them and rolled her eyes. Adam looked at everyone in confusion and shook his head.

                “Ok, moving away from that awkward interaction, I think the best course of action would be to look into this.” Adam dropped a notepad onto the table and everyone looked at it. “Last night, Charlie had a dream about something serious that we need to address. According to Charlie, there is a fifth test subject, and we need to go find them.” They all looked at Adam with concern.

                “Adam, we just got here, are you saying we’re about to turn right back around and go out there,” Zach asked in frustration. Adam shook his head and Zach let out a sigh. He Adam’s worried glance at Charlie and groaned. “What? Why are you looking at her like that Adam?”

                “He’s looking at me like that because I want to go alone, and he doesn’t like that.” Hester began to protest and Charlie shot her down. “Look, I can manipulate minds, and I’m the one who had the visions, so it makes sense. I don’t want to hear it from any of you because I’ve already made up my mind. I’m going to leave in three days’ time, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. I have my burner phone if anyone needs to reach me. Please don’t try to change my mind ok guys?” They all stayed silent for a few minutes. Finally, Karen spoke.

                “I say we go out on the town so you can scam some people and get extra cash. I tallied our total up and we’re at about $2000 right now, which is not enough for all five of us.” Charlie nodded and Zach saw a strange emotion blow over Adam’s face. They ate breakfast in silence and Adam quickly excused himself. Charlie looked down sadly and Zach ran after him. Grabbing his arm, Zach spun Adam around.

                “Dude, what is your problem?” Adam just looked at Zach with frustration. He pulled away and Zach kept going. “Why are you mad at Charlie?”

                “Are you seriously asking me that? She’s about to leave us and go off on her own and I can’t be with her to keep her safe! And what can I even do here? I’m going to be stuck in this goddamn house until she comes back, IF she comes back at all!”

                “She’s going to be ok Zach, Charlie is strong and she can handle herself.” Adam scoffed and shook his head, going upstairs. A door slammed and Zach sighed. Walking back into the kitchen, he saw Charlie wipe some tears away. She sat up and Zach sat down. “He’s being stubborn. Charlie, why are you not letting him come with you?”

                “This is something I have to do alone, and I don’t want to lose him. I care about him too much to let him get hurt.” Zach nodded and she excused herself. Hester looked upset and Zach pulled her to his side.

                “I can’t believe she’s leaving us again. We just regrouped and now she’s leaving us again.” Zach soothed her and Karen looked down sadly. Zach couldn’t believe it either but he knew he needed to be strong for Hester.

Adam

                After he had left the table, Adam had locked himself in the bathroom in the master bedroom. Currently he was looking in the mirror as he tried to brush away his tears to no avail. There was a knock on the door and Adam sniffled.

                “Who is it?”

                “Adam, it’s me.” He turned and opened the door. Charlie’s eyes darted around his face as she took in the fact that he was crying. “Adam I know this is hard but this will be for the better.” He huffed and pushed past her and sunk onto the bed. Charlie stood by the bathroom door and Adam could tell that she was just as upset as him.

                “How is leaving me behind for the better Charlie? We’re supposed to be a team, and this is not what a team does.” Charlie walked over and sat down next to him. She put her head on his shoulder and he intertwined their fingers. “I worry about you being out there alone, you don’t even know who you’re looking for!”

“Why don’t you trust me to do this by myself?” Charlie stood and her voice wavered.

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt!” Adam stood and his voice began to raise and Charlie shook her head.

“I can handle myself out there! I don’t always need someone to save me!”

“Why can’t you just let me go with you Charlie?”

                “Because I love you too much to lose you Adam!” Charlie’s face froze and Adam let out a small ‘oh’. He took a small step back, completely in shock.

                “What did you just say?” She locked eyes with him and she looked like a deer in headlights.

                “I... I mean I just really care about you too much to lose- “Adam rushed forward and pulled her into a desperate kiss. He kissed her like a dying man and she went right along. Shuffling back to the bed, they fell back and Charlie re-positioned herself so that she was straddled in his lap. He couldn’t keep his hands still and he slowed them down.

                “Do you really mean what you said Charlie?” She looked at him and nodded. “I love you too.” Her eyes widen and she pulled him closer into a huge hug. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, but not tight enough to hurt her.

                “Now do you understand why I don’t want you to come with me? It would kill me if something happened to you, and I can’t risk that.” He nodded even though he still wished she would take him. “I plan to leave this Friday, at least you have till then with me to do whatever we want to do.” She grinned at him and he kissed her softly.

* * *

 

                The next morning Karen and Charlie went out to start their plan of getting some more money, and Adam was certifiably bored. Karen had told Hester to keep an eye on the Ghantridine sample as Hester was a science major, and Zach had gone out to get the lay of the land. Currently, Adam was lounging on the couch watching cartoons when Hester came downstairs.

                “Morning Adam.” He waved at her and she sat down next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes when finally, Hester turned to him. “Ok Mr. Brooding Grumpypants, what’s on your mind?” He sighed and muted the TV.

                “I’m worried about her Hester, I don’t want her to leave me and I certainly don’t want her to go out alone with Bane out there and especially after what happened in New York. I know she’s strong, but I love her too much too lose her.” Before Adam could say anything, Zach came in through the door and stopped when he saw them mid conversation.

                “Am I interrupting something?” Adam got up to leave.

                “No, we were just talking about the show. See you guys later; I’m going for a walk.” He stormed outside and slammed the door. Taking in a deep breath, Adam started to walk around the lake. He knew that Hester was right, but it still hurt that h had to stay behind while Charlie was putting her life in danger. It frustrated him that he couldn’t be there for her to help out if Bane’s men found her, and it made it worse not knowing when she would be coming back. He sighed as he sunk down on a rock in the woods. It had been an hour since he left and it was getting cold. Adam began to turn back when he heard a noise behind him. Turning, Adam came face to face with a young brunette who had been running.

                “Didn’t meant to intrude, you just seemed upset. I hate seeing sadness, is everything ok?”            

                “I guess, just some relationship drama.” The girl walked around and gestured next to him. He nodded and she sat on the rock. “My girlfriend has to go somewhere and she wants me to stay here because it’s dangerous and I want to go with her to protect her, and all of our friends are taking her side and I’m frustrated that I can’t be there to protect her and keep her safe and I don’t know what to do.” The girl nodded and when he finished, she sat up.

                “When does she leave?”

                “Friday.”

                “I think your feelings are extremely valid, but at the same time, I can see where your girlfriend is coming from. You need to understand that she wants you to believe in her that she can do this without you. It’s not her not wanting you along, it’s her wanting to show you that she is strong too and I know it’s hard, but you have to believe in her ok?” Adam sighed and nodded. The girl smiled and jumped up. “Hey, whenever I’m sad, running helps. Maybe running will help clear your mind and see where your girlfriend is coming from.” Adam nodded and got up.

                “Thank you. I’m Adam by the way.”

                “Haley.” She waved as she ran off back the way she came from and Adam began to run back towards the house. He began planning their last three days together before she left and he knew exactly what to do. After his run, he went up to the room and began to set up his plan for tonight.

                  It was almost 8:00 at night and Adam was overjoyed when Charlie came back with Chinese food for everyone. Before Charlie sat down, Adam took her hand and excused them from the rest of the group and went upstairs. Adam had set up a fort for them in front of the massive TV and there was a stack of movies on the floor.

                “Adam, what’s all of this for?” He grinned and gestures to the movies.

                “I figured that you were about to leave for who knows how long, and we haven’t even had our first date and we’ve been together for about three months. It was a sad realization so I decided to change it. Pick whatever you want to watch.” Charlie’s smile grew wide as she planted a kiss on his cheek. A few minutes later and “Grownups” was playing on the screen. He wished that he could capture Charlie in this moment for she was absolutely beautiful. When the movie ended, Adam began to move when he realized that Charlie was fast asleep on his shoulder. Smiling, he lifted her up carefully and set her on the bed. Shutting the TV off, he took her jeans off and tucked her in. Climbing in next to her, Adam pulled Charlie close and fell asleep.

Charlie

                _“Tell me more about this 5 th subject, now!” I screamed at the hooded figure. The figure remained silent and I let out a frustrated noise. “How do you expect me to save them if you won’t even tell me anything about who they are or how to find them?”_

_“I cannot interfere more than I already did, and even now I have said too much. You must find out the truth for yourself Charlie. It is up to you to find them and save them from the evil that is coming.” I rolled my eyes and the figure made a noise. “You think this is a game?! It is life or death! If Bane gets his hands on the last test subject and he max’s their powers out, the whole world is in danger, including you and your friends.”_

_“Then tell me what to do! Where do I start? The coordinates you gave me are unrecognizable, and I have no idea who I’m even looking for.” Silence followed and I let out a noise of frustration. “Why am I the one who has to do this! I had to lie to my own boyfriend about why he couldn’t come, and that was the hardest thing ever to do!”_

_“You must discover everything by yourself. You are destined to be the one who saves the world, not Adam, not Hester or Zach. Only you.”_

_“Well then we’re going to have some issues because I have no idea what I’m doing.” The figure turned and began to walk away and I sank to the ground and began to cry._

* * *

 

                “Charlie, wake up!” She jolted awake and Adam looked at her with worry in his face.

                “What time is it?” She looked around and saw that it was still dark outside.          

                “It’s three in the morning, I went to the bathroom and when I came back you were shaking and mumbling and I got worried. Are you ok?” She nodded and he pulled her into his arms. “It was another nightmare, wasn’t it?” She nodded again and felt tears well up. Adam kissed her cheek and held her hand as she began to cry.

                “I am so scared to do this Adam, the figure told me that if Bane’s men find this subject, it’s the end of the world.” He soothed her as she went on about the rest of the dream, leaving out the real reason why he couldn’t come. How could she tell him that if he came with her, he was going to die.

                “It’s over now, it was just a dream.” She nodded and he kissed her softly. Shuffling closer to Adam, Charlie smiled and fell back asleep.

* * *

 

                “GOOD MORNING LOSERS!” Charlie bolted awake to see Zach standing there with a huge plate full of cupcakes. Adam groaned next to her and Charlie looked between the both of them in confusion.

                “Zach what the hell is this all about?!” Zach’s smile dropped and Charlie glared at him before it struck her. “Oh my god Adam I completely forgot, it’s your birthday!” She looked at him and he began to chuckle and Zach couldn’t help but burst out laughing himself. “Why are you laughing at me?”

                “Because it’s not a huge deal Charlie, I’m just turning 20, it’s not like it’s the end of the world.” Zach set the cupcakes down and left the room laughing hard, and Charlie flopped on the bed next to Adam.

                “I’m so sorry I forgot Adam, I’ve just been so distracted with everything that’s been going on that I completely forgot.” Before she could continue, he leaned forward and pulled her into a deep kiss that had her falling forward. When it ended, she smiled down at him and he ran his hand through her hair.

                “I’m just happy that I could wake up next to you Charlie.” She kissed him again and they laid there kissing for a few minutes. A few minutes later, they were up and getting ready. Charlie kept looking over at Adam with absolute bliss, and when they walked into the kitchen they were greeted with Hester, Zach and Karen making breakfast for them.

                “What’s all this?” Charlie looked around and Zach blushed.

                “It was Hester and Karen’s idea,” Zach said as he flipped a pancake over. They all sat down and ate breakfast together and Charlie’s heart dropped as she thought about the harsh journey she had ahead of her. The rest of the day consisted of them going down to the lake as it was unnaturally warm for late September, and Hester had taken this rare opportunity to lay out in the sun, Karen right next to her. The boys decided to go swim and Charlie decided to do some more research on the area the fifth subject would be at. There seemed to be a bunch of weird occurrences in the area, such as rivers flowing north and animals acting out unnaturally. She took notes on it and showed Karen to get her thoughts.

                “Maybe this subjects power has to do with reality itself, or nature.” Charlie wrote those down. Before she could do anything else, Adam was picking her up and carrying her into the lake.

                “Adam let me go!” He laughed and jumped off of the dock into the water. Charlie’s screams were cut off as she was submerged in water. To her shock, the water was actually very warm and she kicked her way up towards the surface. Adam was chuckling next to her and she splashed him. “Ok birthday boy so that’s how it’s going to be!” She dunked him under and he struggled. Charlie saw Zach laughing on the dock and suddenly Charlie was being raised out of the water as Adam lifted her up on his shoulders. She screamed as he flopped her into the water. Eventually they got out of the lake as the sun began to sink. It was almost 5 in the afternoon and Karen had made a beautiful cake for Adams birthday. They all sang and he blew out the candles and Charlie took some icing and stuck it to his nose. He laughed and took more icing and stuck it onto her cheek. After cake, they all settled down for a movie night and everyone but Adam and Charlie fell asleep. “Hey Adam?” He looked over at her. “I haven’t given you your gift yet. It’s upstairs, follow me.” They walked upstairs and Charlie instructed him to sit on the bed with his eyes closed as she went to get his gift. Walking into the bathroom, Charlie became self-conscious as she stripped off her clothes.  What if he got mad about this, or he didn’t want to? She sighed and straightened up, grabbing the condom she had laid out earlier.

                “Can I open my eyes yet Charlie?” She walked out to where he was sitting and took a deep breath and sat in his lap. He froze as he slowly opened his eyes and she saw the realization hit him. “Charlie..?” She leaned forward and kissed him softly, pushing him back onto the bed.

                “Happy Birthday Adam.”

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, if you're triggered by fire at all in any sense, skip the end. You don't miss too much. Also sorry I went AWOL for a month, I was busy with classes and I have finals currently but I'll be on break for the whole month of January, so yay!

Hester

                It was the day of Charlie leaving and Hester couldn’t get the motivation to do anything. She and Zach were laying on the couch watching TV and she couldn’t keep from sighing.

                “Don’t think about it Hester.” She shifted to face him and he gave her a small smile. “I know you’re upset but if you think about it you’re going to become more worked up.”

                “I can’t stop thinking about it. She’s about to go off on her own and we don’t know when she’s coming back. I don’t know how you’re so calm about it.”

                “I have to be calm for Adam, because if I’m not he’s going to lose it and I can’t let that happen.” Sighing, Hester turned back around to face the TV again. There were quiet footsteps and Charlie came into the room in a shirt that definitely wasn’t hers. She froze when she saw Zach and Hester and they looked right at her. Slowly shuffling away, Charlie went into the kitchen.

                “Did they…?” Hester looked at Zach and they both smiled.

                “Oh, you guys are awake.” They both looked up to see Adam standing in the archway in jeans and nothing else. Hester stifled a laughter as Charlie came back around and froze when she saw Adam. They both went red when Zach burst out laughing.

                “You guys are a mess; you don’t have to hide it! That hickey on her neck says it all dude.” Charlie shot him a glare and Adam gave him the finger. Hester burst out laughing as she stood and they all went into the kitchen for breakfast. Karen came down shortly after they sat down and she froze.

                “Why is there so much awkwardness in the air today?” Hester burst out laughing as Charlie turned a deep shade of red. Karen looked at all of them and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. So Charlie, what are your plans for today?”

                “I want to look for buses that will take me near the location, and if there are none then a train. Something that will get me there as soon as possible-“

                “What are you going to do then when you actually get there? How are you going to get around?” Adam said abruptly. She looked at him with a strange look and Hester could tell this wasn’t the first time they had discussed this.

                “I’ll figure it out when I get there, whether its steal a car or something else I’ll figure it out.” Adam rolled his eyes and Karen cleared her throat.

                “There’s a spare Jeep in the garage downstairs. You can use that.” They all turned and looked at Karen as she calmly sipped her tea. “My dad and I used to drive around in the Jeep and when they stopped coming up here he left it up here and it was supposed to go to me but then they,” she drifted off and Zach laid his hand on hers and squeezed it in support. Clearing her throat, she continued. “It should still work, and you have enough money for gas to cover you.” The room was silent and Charlie smiled.

                “Thank you Karen! I’ll definitely use that.” Adam sighed and Hester could tell there was tension between them. She just hoped it would ease itself.

Charlie

                “So this is it then? You’re leaving now?” Charlie sighed and turned away from her suitcase to face Adam. He was leaning against the door frame and she could see the hurt in his face. She walked over to him and he pulled her into a hug and she could feel him shaking.

                “I promise to call you almost every day ok? I know this is going to be hard but I need to do this Adam.” Adam squeezed her tighter and she held him just as hard. Charlie never liked long distance, she was always a physical person and this was going to be extremely hard for both of them. “I love you Adam, and nothing will change this fact.” He kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Pulling Adam over to the bed, she sank down and he pulled her into another hug again. They laid there together and Charlie could feel the sadness and pain in his head.

                It was almost three in the afternoon and Charlie was currently loading up the Jeep with her bags. Everyone was helping out and it sent something cold into her heart. She hated that she had to leave them, but it was necessary for her to do this.

                “Make sure to call us as soon as you get there ok?” Hester said as she pulled Charlie into a huge hug. Charlie nodded and Zach gave her a quick hug. Karen gave her the keys and another hug as well. Charlie looked at Adam, who was trying not to cry and she grabbed his hand. He pulled her into a kiss and she could feel everything he wanted to say behind the kiss and she kissed back with reassurance. Pulling away, Charlie hopped into the Jeep and waved to everyone.

                “I’ll call you when I get there guys!” They all waved as she pulled away. Charlie turned backed to the road and focused in on the voice in her head. “Ok you weird figure, lead me to where I need to go.” As she drove, she could feel herself slowly drifting into a trance and she couldn’t control it. It was like her brain was being controlled by an outside force and she was just along for the ride. The drive itself was long and boring, and by the time Charlie pulled into a motel, it was almost midnight. She was in the middle of Canton, Ohio and as she checked into her room, she could feel the trance wearing off. She knew there was no chance that she was close to the end of her journey but for now it was time to rest.

* * *

 

                _“You still have a long way to go child, but you are also so close”_

_“Your riddles are starting to get on my nerve why can’t you be straight forward for once?” The figure stayed silent and I sighed. “Look, I have no way of finding these coordinates because I can’t use GPS, the least you can do is give me some insight as to where I am going can’t you?” Silence. “Ok I give up.” I turned around and begin to walk away when finally, the figure spoke._

_“Washington.” I paused, turning around._

_“Excuse me?”_

_“You are going to Washington. The fifth subject is in an army base in Washington. You will find them there.”_

_“Ladies and Gentlemen a rare occurrence! Thank you strange figure!” If the figure had a face, I have a feeling it would be rolling its eyes right now._

_“Be warned Charlie, there is danger waiting at this base.”_

_“Don’t you know weird figure? Danger is my middle name.”_

* * *

 

                Waking up, Charlie groaned when she saw it was almost noon. At this rate, it was going to take her a day and a half or so to get to Washington. But Charlie knew she couldn’t turn back now. As she packed, she sent a quick text to Adam saying she arrived in Ohio last night and crashed but she was ok. Immediately there was a text back reading:

                _Thank God! We were worried. Where are you heading next, I miss you already_

                Charlie chuckled and shot a quick text telling him where she was going and finished packing.

Bane

                “Sir, permission to enter.” Bane simply nodded and the soldier came in. “Sir, we recieved word from our spy that the subjects are held up in a small lake house in upper New York. She said-“

                “Bring her in.” The soldier nodded and the door opened behind him. In walked a young brunette. “What is your name?”

                “Haley sir, I ran into the black haired subject out on the trail and watched him as he went back. The house is three stories with a shed shaped like a lighthouse. All four are there along with the scientist.” Bane nodded and dismissed the girl. When her and the soldier left, Bane sighed. This job was taking a toll on his health and everyone knew it was. There was a shift in the air and Bane sighed.

                “What news on Charlie?”

                “She has left the motel, and is now en route to Washington. The trap has been set and the leader at the base is aware of what will happen.” Bane turned around to face the hooded figures, both of whom were standing there silently.

                “If you so much as hurt Lauren-“

                “Do not worry yourself Maurice, it will make your health worse.” Bane huffed and the figures laughed. “Listen, we have instructed that Lauren is to be spared. Don’t doubt us, we know what we are doing.” Bane nodded and sat down in his chair.

                “So what is going to happen to Charlie?”              

                “She will find Lauren, become overjoyed to find her lost love and then she will be captured and her powers will be stripped and Lauren will gain them.” Bane went wide eyed.

                “You didn’t tell me that she would be losing her power!” Bane began to go red before the figure on the left raised its arm.

                “Calm yourself Maurice. With Charlie’s powers gone, the rest of the subjects will become our slaves again.” Bane nodded and sank back into the chair.

                “You are dismissed, go prepare for Charlie.” The figures disappeared and Bane rubbed his face in his hands. There was a timid knock and in walked his niece. “My darling, are you ready to meet your sister?” She nodded and Bane stood up. He walked over to her and led her out of the office. “Good, you will meet her soon.”

Karen

                It’s been a day since Charlie left and according to Adam, she was somewhere in Minnesota giving the Jeep a break from all of the driving. He had been moping around since she left and it was affecting everyone. Hester had hardly eaten anything and Zach had not left the dock except to eat and sleep. Adam was the worst. He didn’t come out of the master bed room at all yesterday and Karen had to bring him up dinner, and even then she doubted that he ate it. Today Hester and her were sitting in the TV room and watching a show. Karen could tell that Hester wasn’t really paying attention and she wished she knew what Hester was thinking about.

                “Hey Karen, I think we should get everyone out of the house for the day, try to distract them.” Karen looked at Hester with shock.

                “Do you have anywhere in mind?”

                “Somewhere not here.” Karen nodded, and they got up. Hester went to go get Zach and Karen walked upstairs. Standing in front of the door, she braced herself for the worst. Sighing, she knocked on the door. There was a pause and finally Adam opened the door. His eyes were red from crying and he looked like an absolute mess.

                “Adam, Hester and I decided to get all of us out for the day. We think that it will help us all kind of regroup ourselves. Go get dressed.”

                “Why should I? I don’t want to do anything right now; I have no intentions of socializing.” Karen sighed and pushed past Adam heading straight to the dresser to pick out clothes.

                “You will come with us, and I will not hear any complaints. I get that you’re hurting but so are Hester and Zach. You have to be there for them and show them that we will get through this and that they are going to be ok and Charlie will be ok. No more of this moping around like an abandoned puppy. Hester lost her best friend, and Zach is trying to help her. I get that you love her and that you miss her but sitting around and pining is not what she would want. So woman up, get your clothes on, and let’s go.” Adam was silent for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

                “Did you just say woman up?” Karen threw his clothes at him and he began to chuckle before he was full on laughing. She rolled her eyes and left the room. Coming back downstairs, Hester stood up as she entered the room.

                “Did he agree?” Karen nodded and Hester let out a whoop. Zach smiled and they talked a bit before deciding to go see a movie. The drive over was pretty quick and Adam stared out the window the entire time. Karen pulled into the theater and bought their tickets. The movie was some scary movie that Hester had been raving about, but Karen wasn’t paying much attention. Something felt weird and she could feel a strange tingle on the back of her neck. It made her feel uneasy and she was unsettled the entire time. Finally, the movie ended and Karen’s nerves were still on edge. They decided to go get pizza at a local shop and Karen tried her best to be social but the unease did not recede. It was nearing five in the afternoon when they finally pulled back into the drive when suddenly Karen let out a cry.

                “Oh my god!” Karen gasped. The lake house was currently engulfed in flames.

Zach

                The car was in park and Karen was bolting out of the car as they all watched the house burn, and Zach quickly leapt out of the car and grabbed her before she could run into the house.

                “ZACH LET ME GO!” She cried as he pulled her back to the car. Hester ran out and put a hand on Zach’s shoulder.

                “Zach we have to go in there, all of our money and our answers are in there! I think I may be able to control the fire to get us in and out but we have to move fast!” Zach nodded and Adam took Karen to the car. Zach grabbed Hester’s hand and she cleared a path into the house. The whole downstairs was engulfed and the heat was searing. They ran up to Karen’s room which was thankfully not completely touched yet. Zach grabbed the huge duffel with the money and all of Karen’s notes plus her sample of Ghantridine. He paused when he looked down at her desk and saw a photo. Picking up the frame, he saw a young couple holding a small baby and it hit him who the couple was. He tucked the frame into the bag and turned to Hester nodding. Hester grabbed his hand again and they made their way back outside. Karen was silently weeping in Adam’s arms and Zach’s heart broke. He pulled the frame out and handed it to Karen. When she realized what it was, she cried some more and pulled Zach into a huge hug. Zach hugged her back and he looked over at Hester, who was smiling. They got back into the car and pulled away, the house crashing to the ground behind them.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't post for a long time, I got busy over my break but I'm back at school now! Also sorry this chapter is so short, I had a hard time writing it.

Adam

                It was nearly 10 o’clock by the time they pulled into a motel somewhere in Pennsylvania, and everyone was fast asleep. When Adam put the car in park, Karen jolted awake.

                “Waahhh…” She rubbed her eyes as Hester and Zach both woke up. “Where are we?”

                “Altoona I think,” Adam said as they unloaded everything from the car. They walked into a motel and checked into a room with two beds and a couch. There was a small fridge and Karen immediately threw the Ghantridine in there along with some other supplies they had grabbed. Hester excused herself to go shower and Zach began to sort out the money to see how much was left.

                “So I counted and we have about $5000, so we’re going to have to be extremely conservative on how we spend it,” Zach said from the floor where he had sorted all of the money by bills. Hester came out into the room in her pajamas and Zach ran into the bathroom to shower.

                “So what is our plan for now? We have nowhere to go, and we are on the run from the government ITSELF mind you,” Hester said as she plopped on the bed next to Adam. Karen held the picture in her hands as she looked at them, her eyes still red from crying.

                “We need to find a safe hiding place from Bane and his men, somewhere that they won’t find us,” Adam said. Karen shook her head.

                “I just don’t understand how they could have found us there, we were careful!” Adam thought about it until suddenly he let out a curse.

                “It was that girl in the woods! It had to be!”

                “What girl?” Hester asked and Adam put his head in his hands.

                “I ran into some girl in the woods when Charlie and Karen went to go get money and I guess she followed me back! I can’t believe I was so stupid!”

                “Adam it’s not your fault,” Hester rested her hand on his shoulder and he brushed her off. Walking into the bathroom, Adam sank to the floor as he felt tears streak his face. It didn’t matter what Hester said, he knew it was his fault and now they were on the run again. He could hear muffled noises in the other room but he didn’t care. Getting up, he realized it was getting late and that he still smelled of smoke and fire so he stripped off his clothes and hopped in the shower.

Zach

                “How long has he been in there?” Hester looked over at the bathroom with concern and Zach held her hand in an attempt to comfort her. He knew Adam better than all of them, and the best thing to do would be to just give him time to himself.

                “We should probably try to get something to eat, it’s getting late. I can run and get us a pizza or something,” Karen offered and Hester nodded.

                “I’ll go with you just in case there are people out there looking for us,” Zach said, standing up. Karen nodded and they left. The drive to the nearest pizza place was quiet and Zach stared straight out the window.

                “Thank you,” Karen finally said, “Thank you for getting what you got out of the fire. I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost those pictures.” Zach looked over at Karen and nodded. They made it to the pizza shop, a local store called La Galleria and picked up a plain pizza. Arriving back at the hotel, Karen quickly gave Zach a hug and he hugged her back. They walked in and set the pizza down and began to eat. Adam eventually came out and joined them but it was quiet the whole time they ate. It was nearing midnight by the time they turned in to sleep. Karen had taken the couch much to Adam’s protests and Zach curled up next to Hester. He was worried about Adam but there wasn’t much they could do about it.

                “I think we need to go find her.”

                “You know what she said Adam, she has to do this alone and we have to respect her!”

                “Guys you need to keep it down, Zach is still sleeping.” Zach chuckled at that and sat up to see Hester on the couch next to Karen and Adam pacing by the door. He groaned as he stood up and grabbed a leftover slice from last night.

                “So why are we fighting at the ass crack of dawn?” Hester giggled and Adam rolled his eyes.

                “I want to go after Charlie, but they think it’s a bad idea.”

                “Because it is a bad idea.” Karen said pointedly. Hester sighed and Zach took everything in.

                “Well, if we don’t go after her, what are we going to do?” They all went silent and Zach nodded. “I think it may be smart to find her, given we have nowhere else to go. And I don’t think it would be wise for Adam to go by himself, even if he is strong.” They all looked at Zach and Adam grinned at him. Karen shook her head furiously.

                “That’s beside the point! Charlie specifically told us to let her go alone and we have to trust that she knows what she’s doing.” Adam glared at Karen and Hester and Zach looked at each other in worry.

                “Well then what do you want us to do. I haven’t heard from Charlie in a few days and I am worried about her.” That caught Zach’s attention. It had been three days since the fire at the lake house and Adam and Charlie had been talking for a few minutes almost every day. No wonder Adam seemed solemn these past few days.

                “Wait Adam what do you mean you haven’t heard from Charlie?” Hester asked slowly as she stood up. He went pale and sighed.

                “We were texting each other one night and then all of a sudden she texted me ‘trap’ and I haven’t heard from her since then and I am worried that something happened.” Hester let out a small cry and Zach held her hand tightly.

                “Oh.” Karen said quietly and Adam nodded.

                “I didn’t want to alarm you guys but this is why I want to go after her! She could be in danger and we’re just sitting here like ducks waiting for the enemy to get us.” Adam began to get louder as he talked and Karen began to shrink as he continued. “She went off on her own and we have to go get her and help her! It’s the right thing to do!” No one said a word and Adam let out a frustrated noise and stormed outside. Karen went to go after him, but Zach stopped her.

                “Let me talk to him. He’s really upset and won’t listen to anyone but me right now.” Karen nodded and Zach went after him Adam was sitting in the chair outside of their motel room with his phone in his hand. What struck Zach as odd was the tear drop that were on the screen. “Adam, do you want to talk?” He shook his head and Zach sighed. “Look man, I know you miss her, and I know you’re worried, but if the last thing she had said was trap don’t you think it’s suicidal to run in after her? It could get us killed or her killed. Charlie is a strong girl and she knows what she’s doing, and she wouldn’t want you to risk your life if it meant saving her.” Adam looked up at Zach and he saw just how read his eyes were. “She’s going to be ok. And besides, you don’t even know where she went man.”

                “Actually I do. I took a picture of the coordinates when she wasn’t paying attention. If we plug them in, we can find her. Please Zach, I am so worried about her.” Zach sighed and took his phone.

                “Come inside with me, and we can talk to the girls.”

Charlie

                The ride to Washington was a long one, and Charlie was beginning to regret driving the whole way in one shot. As she checked the map to make sure she was going to the right place, her thoughts began to race. _What am I going to find at this base? Who is this last subject? What kind of powers will they possess?_ Charlie sighed as she finally pulled into a hotel in Seattle around 2 in the afternoon. It was a small little place on the outskirts of the main city and Charlie began to unpack what she had brought with her. After shooting Adam a text that she was ok without saying where she was, Charlie began to do some research on the base that supposedly had the last subject. It was a base in Pierce, Washington and to Charlie’s knowledge, it was heavily guarded. Sighing, Charlie decided that the best thing to do for now was to go out and stretch her legs and develop a more solid plan than bursting in and attacking everyone. Taking a taxi into town, Charlie sat down at a café and enjoyed the view of the city. _Maybe when this is all over, we can all take a vacation out here_ , Charlie thought as she sipped her coffee. As she looked out at the people passing, something caught her eye. It was a young girl with silver hair across the street staring at her.

                “Oh my god, Lauren?” The figure turned and began to walk away. Charlie quickly leapt up and threw some money down as she ran across the street after her. The crowds were huge and Charlie had to push past many people to keep up with Lauren. This chase continued for a few minutes until finally Lauren turned the corner into an ally. Charlie bolted in after her, only to be met with a dead end, Lauren nowhere to be seen. “Lauren! Where are you?” Charlie froze when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning, Charlie came face to face with the silver-haired girl.

                “I’m right here Charlie.” Charlie took a step back towards the wall when she saw Lauren’s face. It was pale and expressionless, as if Lauren was just a puppet. But what was most disturbing of all was Lauren’s eyes which were fogged over. It suddenly clicked with Charlie: Lauren was blind.

                “Lauren, what happened to you? The last time I saw you, you-“

                “I don’t have much time for a stroll down memory lane Charlie,” Lauren said with bitterness in her voice. “You left me alone in this cold darkness, scared and alone. YOU DID THIS TO ME!” Lauren screamed as she pushed Charlie. She stumbled backwards and fell, horror struck at the things Lauren was saying.

                “Lauren, what are you talking about? Hester and I tried to SAVE you when the Ghantridine exploded. We called the ambulance and everything. It wasn’t my fault!” Charlie began to cry when suddenly Lauren was lifting her in the air. Gasping, Charlie kicked at Lauren to no avail. Lauren threw her against the wall and Charlie smacked her head. She felt the world spin and her vision began to swim.

                “I’m not going to listen to your lies anymore Charlie, I’m taking you to my home and they will deal with you there.” That was the last thing Charlie heard before her world went black.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in almost two months, college got crazy, not that there are a lot of hits on this but still yeah sorry. Also I had been wanting to do this idea for a long time but couldn't figure out how to transition the end. Next chapter is going to be a bit longer (hopefully?) so yeah that's exciting.

Lauren (2013)

                “Alright guys are you ready for this?” Everyone looked at each other and then at Lauren. She could tell they were nervous, but at the same time, they needed to grow up. Finally, Charlie nodded and Lauren poured in the chemical. She knew something had gone horribly wrong when there was a flash and suddenly the world went black. She could hear Charlie screaming and Hester talking to someone but everything was dark. Lauren felt herself lose conscious and she passed out.

* * *

 

                “Lauren, can you hear me?” Her senses slowly came to her, except for one thing.

                “I can, but why is everything still dark?” Whoever was talking was silent. “What happened to me?”           

                “You mixed together two very dangerous chemicals, and unfortunately…..Unfortunately the chemicals got into your eyes and you lost your vision.” Lauren was silent and she could hear someone shuffling around. “We tried to save them but the damage was too deep. I am so sorry.”               

                “What happened to Charlie? And Adam and Hester? Where are they?” Again, the doctor was silent. “Well if you’re not going to tell me can you at least tell me when I can go home?”             

                “You won’t be,” a familiar voice said. Lauren looked in the direction of the voice. It almost sounded like…

                “Uncle Maurice?” There was a creak as someone stood up and suddenly Lauren felt arms around her.     

                “My sweet sweet niece, you sadly won’t be going home as you have been exposed to a dangerous chemical. I am having you sent to a friend and they will be making sure that you are ok.” She felt panic run through her at the thought of being sent somewhere different.

                “Uncle Maurice what do you mean? What happened in the lab?” He was quiet and Lauren let out a frustrated noise. “Why won’t anyone tell me what is going on?” Once again, she was met with silence and she sunk back against the bed in defeat. “I’m not going anywhere until someone answers me.” Lauren heard someone sigh and a chair squeaked.

                “You have been exposed with a very rare and dangerous chemical called Ghantridine. We need to make sure that the mixture you were been exposed to will not affect you in certain ways. Unfortunately, you will have to be sent somewhere very far away from here.” Lauren froze as she processed this. Did this mean she had to say goodbye to Charlie? How would Charlie react to this?

                “Uncle Maurice, what about my friends? What about Charlie?” Saying goodbye to Charlie was going to hurt the most. She truly loved her and she didn’t want to say goodbye. Lauren heard a shift to her left and turned to the noise. There was a gasp from a woman and Lauren felt her heart drop. It was her mother.

                “Maurice what the hell happened to my baby girl?” Lauren could feel her uncle flinch as her mom began screaming and crying at the sight of her baby girl.

                “It was my fault mom, I was messing with things I shouldn’t have. Don’t yell at him.” Her mom stopped yelling but Lauren could still hear her crying.

                “Kelly, we have to take her away. She has been exposed to-“and then the yelling began again and Lauren sighed.

                “You are NOT taking MY DAUGHTER away to some sick government base to do tests on her for your sick discoveries Maurice. I won’t allow it.” Lauren heard her uncle let out an exasperated noise and she wished she could see what was happening.

                “We have to take her, we don’t know what will develop if we don’t test her.”

                “I don’t care, she is only 14, and she is not being subjected to that.” The chair creaked and the air in the room changed. Before there was an all-out bloodbath, a third voice cleared his voice. Lauren let out a sigh of relief as the doctor came in.

                “You must be Mrs. Ladon. My name is Dr. Keswick; may I speak to you outside?” Whatever happened next Lauren missed and the door shut. She heard her uncle sigh as he sank back into the creaky chair.

                “My sister can be a real pain sometimes. She just wants what’s best for you kiddo you know that right?” Lauren nodded and he laid a hand on hers.

                “Am I really going to have to say goodbye to everyone?” The pause that came after didn’t sit well. “I will get to say goodbye to them right?”

                “Lauren, they think that you are already dead.”

A Few Months Later

                “Do it again.”

                “Uncle Maurice I’ve done this course almost a million times!”

                “So do it a million and one times.”

                “Can’t I have a break?”

                “Your powers have not manifested yet, you won’t rest until they do.” Lauren let out a huge sigh and braced herself. She had been at the government base for a long time. When she got here, she’d been told that they would be testing her for her ‘power’, which was the mutation she gained back when she was hit from the Ghantridine. At first she missed Charlie and Hester and all of them, but with each day that passed here, the longing turned into anger. They were the reason she was stuck here, blind and completely alone. Maurice had been trying to help her but she was just so angry. As she ran the course again, she could picture Charlie with her blond hair that was always in a ponytail and her abnormal green eyes like emeralds. Lauren wanted to take those green eyes from her and she let out a cry as she got to the end of the course. She could feel a tear roll down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away.

                “Good Lauren, now what are you feeling?”

                “Anger, exhaustion, and lonely. I want to find Charlie and her friends and get them for what they did.”    

                “All in due time my dear niece. For now, you should rest. You’ve worked hard today.” Lauren nodded and felt a guard begin to escort her towards her room. She felt for her bed and when she found it she stripped down to her sports bra and her underwear and laid in the bed. Closing her eyes, she felt herself drift to sleep.

* * *

 

_The world around me was dark, and cold and I couldn’t see anything, but somehow at the same time I could see EVERYTHING. I could see the trees; I could see the water rushing. I was in a valley and there was a house. I was in the national park at home, camping with my family. It was a memory, just a small fragment and it was gone._

_“Who are you?” A voice behind me questions and I turn. The face is distorted and shifting, as if there are multiple faces at once. I open my mouth to speak but no sound comes out when suddenly, the person is gone. I feel the earth moving beneath me and I am falling. I try to scream but nothing comes out as the earth swallows me whole._

* * *

 

                Lauren woke screaming on the floor, the sheets a mess around her. There was a knock at the door and someone showing concern. She gasped and said she was ok, the dream fading as she began to wake up. She clicked on the alarm clock next to the bed and it said that it was 8:00 am. Sighing, Lauren felt her way to the closet and pulled out whatever had been laid out for her. Uncle Maurice had taken it upon himself to always have her clothes set out and ready for her so that she could be dressed in an efficient manner. She felt for the tags and put on the clothes. The door behind her opened and she stuck out her foot as a soldier tied her sneakers for her. It was humiliating that she couldn’t even do her own shoes. When the soldier was done, Lauren put her hand on their shoulder and they lead her out of the room. She had gone through this routine every day since she had gotten here, but something felt different. When the soldier stopped, Lauren came back to reality.

                “Good morning darling, are you ready for today’s test?” Lauren scoffed and rolled her eyes, or at least she hoped she was. Judging by her uncles sigh, she was successful and he began to explain the test. “There is one power we have not tested yet, and that is what you shall be tested for. It is called the power of ‘divine sight’ and it is a very rare occurrence where one can see into people’s true beings.”

                “So basically it’s like being psychic?”

                “In a sense. Divine sight allows a person to be able to see past reality and into the spirit world if you will. You will be able to see if a person is honest, if they have ill intention against you and so on.”

                “But Uncle Maurice, there’s a slight problem to that power.” She waved her hand in front of her eyes, and she could hear him get frustrated.

                “I am well aware, but divine sight doesn’t always necessarily mean having regular sight.”  Lauren sighed.

                “Ok so how do we test for this power then?” Someone put their hand on her shoulder and guided her across the room. She felt a table and a chair and sat down. Whoever had helped her was gone and she suddenly felt alone. There was a crackle above her and her uncle’s voice came over the loudspeaker.

                “Ok Lauren, there is a TV in front of you.” Lauren reached out and sure enough, there was a tiny TV there. “I want you to close your eyes and relax your mind. I want you to focus on your heartrate and imagine it slowing down.” Lauren nodded and closed her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and could feel herself slipping off. “Ok, we are going to put pictures on the TV, and I want you to focus on picturing what is on the TV.” Lauren began to picture the TV in front of her when suddenly it flicked on and there was something on the screen.

                “A car. A duck. A baby. Ice cream.” She kept going as each image flashed and finally the TV shut off and everything went black again. She jolted as the door opened and someone came in and sat down in the room.      

                “Well done my darling niece, you got everything right. I think we found your power, now we just need to help you control it and master it.” Lauren was silent, still processing what had just happened. “I am proud of you, and with your newfound powers, I know you will do great things.” The only thing that came to Lauren’s mind as she was lead back to her room is how she would use this power to seek revenge on Charlie and the rest of them.

Present day- Charlie

                The air around Charlie was stale and her head was throbbing. She opened her eyes slowly to see that she was tied up and there was blood on her jeans. Groaning, she struggled against the ropes.

                “It’s useless and you know it is,” a voice said from behind her. Charlie tried to see who the voice belonged to but she couldn’t. There were footsteps and suddenly Lauren was in her vision. “Do you know why you are here Charlie?” She shook her head. “You’re here because you’re going to pay for what you did you bi-“

                “Lauren that is enough.” A stern voice said from somewhere and Lauren sighed. She stepped away and Charlie had a moment to process before Bane was stepping into the light. Charlie gasped and began squirming in the chair.

                “I told you it was useless Charlie!” Charlie shot a glare towards Lauren despite her being turned towards the door. _How could she tell what I was doing if she can’t see,_ Charlie thought. Bane sighed and walked over to Lauren and leaned close, whispering something in her ear. Whatever he said it made Lauren angry and she stormed out of the room. Bane sighed and turned back to Charlie.

                “You should consider yourself lucky that I was here Charlie, Lauren has about three years of hatred for you and your friends built up.” Charlie’s jaw dropped at that and Bane chuckled. “She always said that she was glad I wouldn’t let her say goodbye to you.”

                “I don’t understand. They told us that she had died, how is she here? And if she is blind how could she see where I was when she attacked me in the alley?”

                “It is true that she cannot see, however, she can see when she uses her gift of divine sight. We told everyone that she had died because she was the first subject affected by Ghantridine and we had to test on her. Because of you and your silly friends, my poor niece has lost everything, but now she is going to become the most powerful person ever.” Charlie tried to process this; however, something caused her to stop.

                “Wait, did you just say niece?”

               


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi so I like died for almost 5 ish months and I am sorry for that, my life just got really crazy and I highkey forgot about this story (not that there's anyone even reading it). But here take this really short chapter as I try to remember the direction I was going in for this story.

Hester

                “Are you serious right now Zach?!” Karen slammed her hands on the table and everyone but Zach flinched. Adam and Zach had come back in and Zach had just announced that he decided that going after Charlie was the best thing to do.

                “I am completely serious Karen. Charlie needs us and I think we need to go after her. She could be de-“

                “Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Karen spit out and Zach held his ground. Adam looked pale and Hester put her hand on his, giving it a squeeze.

                “She is in danger and we have to go find her.” Karen let out a frustrated scream and ran outside. Zach sighed and Adam looked at him

                “I’ll talk to her,” Hester said and Zach nodded. Walking outside, Hester found Karen on the curb with the picture of her parents. “Karen?”

                “I know he’s right, but I don’t want to lose anyone else. I have only known you guys for a few months but I just feel like a family right now and I can’t lose another family to death.” She began crying and Hester sat down next to her and held her.

                “You won’t lose us Karen, everything will work out. We’re going to find Charlie and save her and come home.” Karen sniffled and looked at Hester and Hester pulled her into a hug and sat there as Karen let everything out. She talked about what happened to her parents and Hester told her that she remembered when her friend’s dad died and the whole school pulled together for her. Karen began to calm down when Zach came out.

                “It’s getting late, why don’t we try and get some sleep?” Karen nodded and they went inside. Adam stood when they came in and looked at Hester. She nodded and he gave Karen a hug and she hugged him back.

                “I promise nothing will happen to anyone. We will get Charlie and make it out safely.” Karen nodded and they split apart. She shuffled over to the couch and set up her bed. Adam climbed into his bed and Zach went into the bathroom. Hester climbed into the bed and shut her eyes. Adam’s words rang in her mind and she hoped he was right.

                It was early when the gang left the hotel for Washington. Karen was driving and Adam fell asleep in the back seat with Zach looking at the map.

                “So according to my amazing tracking sk- OW HESTER- ok fine according to the coordinates she was heading for a base in Pierce, Washington. We have no idea where she was however when she sent ‘help me since these phones can’t be tracked.” Hester sighed and turned back to the road. There was miles upon miles of farm field on either side of the car and the landscape made Hester feel sleepy. However, she knew that Karen was still shaken up from last night. Her grip on the wheel was close to pure white and she was driving with the caution of an elder woman. It was concerning but Hester knew better than to try to get her to relax. Sighing, Hester looked out of her side window at the fields around them. She tried to stay awake for Karen’s sake but finally she felt the pull of sleep take her. It only felt like a few minutes before Hester was being jolted awake.

                “Hester, wake up we’re here.” Hester yawned and looked around. What was once sprawling fields were replaced with towering buildings and lots of cars. Currently they were parked in a hotel lot and Hester could see Adam inside booking the hotel room. The landscape had a clear view of the Seattle Space Needle in the distance and Hester was in love. She had always wanted to see the Needle, but never had the chance to come here.

                “Ok so we have the room for about a week, we need to find Charlie in that time or else we have to relocate to a different hotel. I asked the manager about any local bases nearby and he said there were about three, the closest being in Pierce, which is about 10 minutes from here. I think we should split up and go find any clues.” Hester looked at Karen in worry and she was already one-step ahead.

                “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea, look what happened last time you did that. We should go investigate the base in Pierce and if it’s not there we will look elsewhere.” Adam shot Karen a glare and she held it for a solid five minutes until Adam sighed. “Now we have been on the road all day, let’s just turn in for the night and figure out our plan tomorrow.” They all nodded and made their way to the room. Hester flopped down on the bed next to Zach, who immediately wrapped his arms around her.

                “Are we doing the right thing Hester? I mean, should we have come after Charlie?” Hester could feel the unease in his voice and she turned over so she was facing Zach. Just as she predicted, his face was practically screaming fear and concern. She leaned forward and kissed him softly until she felt him relax.

                “I believe in Charlie, I know that she is strong and able to handle herself. I don’t like that she got captured and I want to find out who took her just as badly as Adam does. She is my best friend and I don’t want to lose her.” Zach nodded and Hester sighed. “Try to get some sleep Zach, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.” He nodded and she flipped back over. _Now if only I could follow my own advice_ , she thought as his breathing evened out.

               


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few months, sophomore year has been kicking my butt. But this story is a year old I made this when I needed a break from school work and while I know nobody is really reading it I am proud of myself for keeping up with it! Also this is my LONGEST chapter and I am going to hopefully get to the major part of the story in the next chapter.

Lauren

            “I’m just saying that maybe we should reconsider how we approach this sweetheart”. Lauren let out an exasperated sigh, frustrated with her uncle. They had locked up Charlie in a cell with only one door and only a bed. Maurice had informed Lauren that both she and Charlie shared similar powers. This of course pissed Lauren off to no end, and made her anger grow more. It had been two days since they had captured Charlie and Maurice was starting to get irritated with how Lauren was handling the situation. Lauren did not care; she knew that her plan was going to work. Her end goal was to have a reunion between her and her friends. When she had sent the trap text using Charlie’s phone with coordinates to where she was, Lauren had hoped that Hester and Adam would be dumb enough to follow.

            “Uncle Maurice, I know you are concerned about what I am planning, but you do not need to worry about me. I’ve had this plan since that first day of training back at the base.” Maurice was quiet which made Lauren sigh. She felt her way over to where he stood and put her hand on his. “I promise that it will work out in the end, I just need your faith in me.” He held her hand and squeezed it.

            “It’s getting late; you should get some sleep niece.” She nodded and felt another hand guide her away. As she was taken back to her room, she hoped that her plan was successful in the end.

Charlie

            Charlie slowly felt her senses come back as she slowly woke up. She was in a metal room with nothing but a bed and a small barred window. It had been a few days since she was captured and she was worried about what was happening. The scariest thing was she had tried to listen to the guard outside of her door but her powers did not work. Even when the guard came in with her meals she could not read his thoughts. It had to be something in the metal that was blocking her telepathy. Lost in thought, Charlie jumped when the door opened and in walked Lauren with a guard.

            “What do you want?”

            “I want to talk to you.” Charlie let out a chuckle at that.

            “And what if I don’t want to talk to you?” Lauren stared directly at her and her eyes twitched, almost like a glare but not quite. Charlie took a moment to look at her eyes. There were faded scars around the edges and a fog over the iris. The sight made Charlie sad.

            “Why are you staring at me like that?” This made Charlie jump. How could she see that?

            “How do you know I am staring at you?”

            “I can see it.” This shocked Charlie even more. How the hell was that possible? Lauren sat down on the bed next to Charlie, not quite staring at her but almost staring through her. “I guess Bane never told you.”

            “Told me what?”

            “My power is Divine Sight. I can see without having to actually have sight. I can see with my mind.” Charlie thought about this a little bit.

            “So similar to how I can read thoughts and feelings and manipulate them, you can see without needing your eyes?” Lauren nodded.

            “While I can’t control thoughts and feelings, I can read people and the area around me. For example, there is a window on my left, the door is in front of me, and you are on my right.” Charlie was impressed at the accuracy.

            “But wait, if you can use your sight in here, how are my powers muted?”

            “Because the metal used in the guard’s helmet and for the cells are anti-telekinetic meaning your telekinesis will not work in here. We couldn’t have you controlling the guard’s minds to let you out now could we?” Charlie rolled her eyes at that. “Look, I came in here to confess something to you since you won’t be leaving anytime soon. We set a trap for your friends and they are currently coming here to free you. When they come, they will be captured and all of you will have your powers stripped and I will gain them. Maurice is planning world domination, but me? I just want you all to suffer like I did for almost 3 years. Of course, it wouldn’t be fun if it did not cause pain to all of you.” Charlie stared wide eyed at Lauren as a sick smile spread on her face.

            “Lauren that’s horrible!”

            “And what you assholes did to me wasn’t?!” Charlie looked away in shame at that. “I thought so.” Lauren got up and put her arm out. The guard came over and began to lead her away but then she stopped. “Oh and Charlie?” Charlie looked up. “Your pretty little boyfriend Adam will be the first to go. I can't wait to have our reunion.” She laughed and the guard led her out. Charlie let out a cry.

Karen

            Arriving in the city, Adam began asking everyone if they had seen Charlie. It had been two days since they had arrived in Pierce, and so far, no one had seen her. Adam was slowly starting to lose hope and Karen was worried. Today they found a little coffee shop in the city and while Adam went inside to get the drinks, Karen, Zach and Hester sat outside.

            “Hester, what if we can’t find her?” Zach looked up at Karen and Hester paused. Her face paled as she processed what Karen had just said.

            “Why would you ask that Karen,” Hester asked slowly and Karen shook her head.

            “I didn’t mean to upset you; however I am worried that we won’t find her. Adam has asked everyone he has seen and no luck. What if she is not here and it is a trap? Charlie said she wanted to do this on her own right?” Hester nodded, “So then why would Charlie ask us to come help her if she said it was too dangerous and she had to be alone?”

            “Maybe she was outnumbered and needed backup?” Zach supplied and Karen shook her head. Before she could continue, Adam ran out of the store. “Adam you ok buddy?”

            “Guys! I was in line waiting for coffee and I had the picture of Charlie in my wallet when I went to pull out some cash and the girl behind the counter said she recognized the girl!” She said that Charlie had been here almost five days ago and she saw her run across the street but didn’t see where she went when she turned the corner. However she said she saw some men carrying her to a black van and with them was a girl with silver hair.” At this, Hester gasped and Karen looked at her.

            “Wait a minute, silver hair? No, it can’t be…” Hester got a look of fear on her face and Karen looked at Zach, who was just as confused as Karen was.

            “What is so important about the girl with silver hair?” Hester looked at Zach as if he had two heads.

            “The only person we know with silver hair….is Lauren.”

Maurice

            The door opened and Lauren walked out of the cell. The guards led her away and Maurice emerged from the shadows, keeping quiet as he walked to the cell. Looking in, he saw Charlie crying on her bed. Sighing, he opened the door slowly and Charlie looked up.

            “What do you want?” Charlie said with hatred in her voice. Maurice sighed and walked over to the window. He stared out onto the field below for a few moments before finally speaking.

            “’O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!’ Do you know where this is from?”

            “Hamlet.” Maurice turned and looked at Charlie. Her hair was matted and her face tear stained. Maurice felt a small pang of pity until he remembered what she had done and the feeling faded.

            “You have to understand our intentions; Lauren has had years to build up this hatred towards you and your friends and for good reason. You hurt her and did not feel any remorse towards your actions. She has gone years in the dark, not knowing how to seek the revenge she desires.”

            “But we tried to help her! She has to realize that. It was an accident and we tried to talk her out of it!” Maurice shook his head.

            “You left her to rot and did nothing to stop the accident!” Charlie flinched at that, shrinking closer to the wall. “She trusted you and your friends to protect her and you abandoned her!” Charlie let out a small sob and Maurice turned away, unable to look at her any more. “I hope your time in this cell teaches you a thing or two, you’re going to be here for a while.” With that, he left, leaving Charlie to rot.

Zach

            Adam burst into the hotel room, anger fueling his actions. Hester had been silent since leaving the coffee shop and Zach had not let go of her hand since. Karen followed them in as Adam began cursing up a storm.

            “I knew we should have went with her, and now she’s been fucking captured by the one person I can’t fucking save her from!”

            “Adam, you need to calm down!” Karen said as she shut the door. “I know you’re upset but we can’t do anything until we figure out where they are.”

            “I knew this was too dangerous for her and now that asshole Bane has her! How can you tell me to calm down when the girl I love has been captured by them!” Adam’s face was reddening as he kept going. “We have to find her before they can hurt her. If they fucking hur-“ Whatever Adam was going to day was cut off with a slap from Karen. Everyone was quiet and staring at Karen as she breathed heavily.

            “Adam, I am sorry for slapping you, but you need to be rational. We do not know anything about this Lauren chick’s power, or where they are even located. I know you are worried for Charlie but we all are. She is our friend and we have to stick together and keep our heads. It will be the only way to ensure her safety.” Adam looked at Karen with shock but slowly nodded. “Now, it’s almost time for dinner so we need to start a game plan for what we are going to do. We know that the only base near here is the base in Pierce so we should start there. It will be near impossible to break into even with your powers so we need to investigate it first. Hester,” she looked up at Karen, “you and I are going to team up and look at it tomorrow. Maybe there is a tour of the base we can get into. Adam and Zach, you need to research the outside of the base without being caught. That should be easy with Zach’s speed, and we can meet up after and report our findings.” They all looked at her and nodded. Karen picked up the hotel phone and dialed a local pizza place while Adam made his way to the shower. Hester leaned into Zach and he pulled her in close. She was shaking and he kissed her head.

            “I know you’re worried Hester but I promise she is going to be ok.” She sighed and her shaking slowed.

            “I know she is going to be okay, I am more worried about Adam.” Zach nodded and looked towards the bathroom. He had known since the beginning of the year that Adam cared deeply for Charlie, thinking about the memory of freshman orientation when they first met. Adam had confided in Zach that he had cared for her since before the incident with Lauren but could never act on it since Lauren and Charlie were dating. Knowing now that Adam loved her so deeply, Zach could not help feeling his heartbreak. Thinking about this made Zach pull Hester closer.

            “Hester, I-“

            “Okay! Pizza should be here in about 20 minutes!” Zach and Hester jumped as Karen came over. “Sorry did I scare you guys?” Hester shook her head and detangled herself from Zach to go change. Karen looked from her to Zach with confusion. “What did I interrupt?”

            “Nothing,” Zach groaned as he rubbed his face. 20 minutes passed and the pizza arrived. Adam eventually came out and was silent through dinner. The unease during dinner made for a lack of conversation and Zach could tell no one wanted to address the elephant in the room. He himself felt nervous for tomorrow. After dinner was finished, everyone took to their respective beds. Hester wormed her way into Zach’s arms and was silent for a few moments. He felt himself drifting until he heard her whisper something.

            “What did you say Hester?”

            “I asked you what you were going to say earlier.” Zach held his breath, fear overtaking him. He had almost slipped about his feelings towards Hester and he knew that it would have been a mistake to tell her.

            “It’s not important, I’ll tell you tomorrow.” She was silent and he waited to see her reaction.

            “If it was not important then why won’t you tell me?”

            “Because I am worried about what you will say,” he looked her dead in the eyes and there was a small sadness in her gaze.

            “You can tell me Zach, I will listen and understand.” Taking a deep breath, Zach opened up.

            “Hester, thinking about what Adam is going through put my own feelings into perspective. I used to be the popular jock that everyone looked up too and I was always selfish. Then we met at that party and you changed me, and I can never thank you enough for what you have done. I just need you to know that I care about you so much and you made me a better person in the time we have known each other. I guess what I am trying to say is, well, I think I love you and it scares m-“ Before he can finish she pulls him into a deep kiss. He makes a noise of shock but quickly sinks into the kiss. They stay like that for what feels like hours and finally they pull apart.

            “I love you too Zach. I admit that this is all new and terrifying for me. But I am glad to know I will have you by my side.”

Adam

            Adam wakes up with his head fuzzy and unable to focus. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, he sees that it is 3:00 am. Groaning, he gets up and goes to the bathroom to relieve himself. The lights flicker on and he squints to adjust. Looking down to avoid the worst of it, he lets out a sigh. When he is done, he walks over to the sink to wash his hands. Looking up, Adam jumps because behind him is Charlie.

            “Charlie!” Adam turns too fast and hits his elbow on the sink. No one is behind him and he blinks, holding his elbow. Sighing, he turns back to the sink to finish washing his hands. “What the hell!” Adam yelled as he jumped back. Written on the mirror in something red were the words ‘Help Me’.

* * *

            Adam jolted awake, his shirt clinging to his sweat-soaked body. He panted as he looked around to familiarize himself with his settings. _Right_ , he thought, _I am in the hotel in Pierce_. Sighing, he sank back against the pillow. Tossing and turning, his attempts to fall back asleep proved futile and he sighed. Getting up and walking towards the table, Adam let his thoughts wander. What was the point of that dream? Was Charlie trying to reach out to him? Was she in danger, or worse? Adam sat down and read the newspaper on the table. There was an article on the base near by saying that the base was celebrating its centennial tomorrow and Adam circled it. Looking at the clock, he saw it was 6:30 am and everyone was still asleep. Sighing, he grabbed his jacket and the keys to the car and left. Driving to the nearest coffee shop, Adam ordered four cups and grabbed a bunch of sugar packets and cream cups. He also purchased a dozen donuts and left the store. Driving back, Adam began to make a mental plan for the day. When he arrived at the hotel, he made his way back to the room but froze when he noticed something inside. There was a group of men wearing sunglasses and suits at the desk with men in uniform around them. Adam pulled his hood over his head and ducked his head down as he slowly made his way inside.

            “…Look…Jaci, we just want to know if you have seen these kids. The American Government has put out a warrant for their arrest. If you have seen them, tell us where and you will be rewarded.”

            “And what makes you think they are here?”

            “We have our sources.” Adam walked past them as quickly as he could without raising suspicion. The guard closest to him spared him a glance but did not bother him. When he got to the room, he set the coffee and donuts down and was pleased to see everyone was awake.

            “Adam, what’s wrong?”

            “We may have been found.” They all looked up in shock. “I went to go get breakfast and when I came back there was a group of men wearing suits and they had been interrogating the receptionist about us.

            “What are we going to do? If we stay here, they’ll probably kill us on the spot,” Karen said as she stood up. “We have to get out of here before they find us.” They all nodded and began packing up their stuff. Grabbing whatever supplies they could, they made their way to the door before they heard a knock.

            “Open up, we have authorization for your arrest. If you come willingly no harm will come to you or your friend.” They froze and backed away.

            “Quick, everyone stand back,” Hester said as she raised her hand. A column of fire blasted into the window and they jumped out of the hole that formed. Running towards the car, they suddenly halted when they saw the guards inspecting it.  

            “Over here guys,” Karen said from behind them where she had the door of a car open. They all piled into the back and pulled their hoods up over their heads. Karen drove past the guards and waved. They waved back and she pulled out of the hotel.

“Holy crap that was close,” Zach said as they all relaxed. Adam pulled out the newspaper he had grabbed and showed them the article he circled.

            “Charlie has to be here, the emblem of the base matched emblems on the uniforms of the guards.” They all looked at the article with shock and agreement. “If we sneak into the event, maybe we can find Charlie and break her out.” Everyone agreed except Karen, who was suspiciously quiet.

            “While I admit it is a good plan Adam, my only issue is how we ensure that they won’t catch us the minute we walk in.” No one responded and Karen nodded. “I think I should go to the event by myself, keep an eye on what the movement is. You three can sneak in as maybe servers for the guests and then find me and we will find Charlie together. It makes the most sense because they do not know me, and my face was never shown with yours. I can purchase a ticket when I get to the event and then we will meet up inside.” They all nodded and began to formulate how to achieve this plan. Adam stayed quiet as they formed the plan, still thinking about his dream. He just hoped that everything would go according to plan.


End file.
